Seeking Promise
by pengooin
Summary: Sora and Riku were once best friends. Now Riku is the most popular boy in school and Sora is falling for Kairi. When Riku hears of their relationship, he starts bullying Sora relentlessly. Is there a deeper reason behind the torture or is Riku just picking a fight? AU. Riku/Sora and some Roxas/Axel.
1. Chapter 1

**Boom! My first Fanfic!**

**Title: Seeking Promise**

**Rating: M**

**Pairings: primarily Riku/Sora, some Roxas/Axel, brief Sora/Kairi**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Kingdom Hearts characters, any images, or cultural references I use. If I did, Sora might've worn those short shorts during most of KH2 and not just in the first 20 minutes. Riku would also have long, silky hair forever.**

**Author's notes: This is my first fan fiction. That being said, please be gentle. I have a BA in creative writing, but that doesn't mean I'm the best writer ever, and it also doesn't mean I'm going to be grammatically perfect. I'm TERRIBLE at the arrangement of dialogue. "New paragraph? Meh, screw it." I'm doing this purely for fun, so I'm not too worried about criticism. I DO want you to tell me if you like it, so I know if I want to keep going.**

**This is your typical high school AU yaoi. Yaoi means boy x boy love, which means kissing and cuddling and occasional dry humping. Don't like it, don't read any further. I just saved your life, you're welcome. My inspiration mostly stems from Slashapalooza. Her writing is incredible.**

**The rating M is mostly me hedging my bets. The rules basically say ratings mean nothing and I'm just like, "...Why?" *squint* I might consider lemons in the future as an add-on you can e-mail me for... or something like that. This rating is me giving myself wiggle-room.**

**During this chapter Kairi interrupts Sora from listening to his music. The lyrics are no longer in the chapter, but the song was called "They Weren't There" by Missy Higgins in case you were interested. I do not own/profit from the song.**

* * *

><p>The tropical sun was blinding that day. You had to shield your eyes through parted fingers to see the small town sinking away behind the horizon. This kind of weather was Sora's favorite because it wasn't too hot for the breeze to ruffle the branches of the taller paopu trees. He felt the top of his hair quivering and smiled. It was just another gorgeous day on Destiny Islands. He nodded to himself. Today was the day he'd tell Riku how he felt. Thinking the name made his stomach flip over. <em>Maybe I'm hungry, <em>he thought as though to distract himself.

It wasn't two minutes later he heard Riku approach from behind. Riku stood beside him and wiggled his naked toes in the sand, "It's nice, right?" He closed his eyes and smiled the same crooked smile Sora loved about him. Sora nodded and didn't say a word. Riku knew even with his eyes closed. He sat down beside Sora and skipped a small rock effortlessly. Sora did the same, but the rock made a loud 'PLOP' as it sank straight to the bottom. Riku laughed, making Sora blush. He leaned back in the sand while Riku searched for rocks. Riku found a small shell and it made a whiffling noise when he threw it.

"We'll be starting eighth and ninth grade soon Sora," Riku sighed. Sora squinted against the harsh sunlight, "I know."

"You excited?"

"Not really."

Riku shook his head, "Me either."

Sora chuckled and this time Riku pinked and chucked another seashell. "You know," Riku drawled, "I've been thinking," he paused a moment, considering what he was about to say. "We're gonna start dating girls soon." Sora sat up. "Huh?"

"When that happens Sora, I don't want our friendship to end. You have to promise me Sora. Promise me we'll still come out here. We'll still be friends." Riku clenched his fists.

Sora tilted his head and looked up at Riku. "Of course Riku. Why bring that up?" Sora bit his lip. He hadn't planned for this. Riku grimaced and stared out at the ocean. For the first time, Sora couldn't pinpoint what was going on in Riku's head. This particular expression left Sora baffled.

Riku shrugged and sudden realization swept over Sora. He gaped and felt his stomach hollow out. Sora's eyebrows knitted together and he looked down at the sand, feeling his eyes well up. He kept his voice steady but Riku saw right through him, "Do you like someone?"

Riku nodded, "Yeah, I think so."

Sora didn't think it was possible for his stomach to sink any further and suddenly the summer sun seemed to burn and ache, mocking his misfortune. "Who?" Sora looked up innocently and smiled. His eyes glistened with unfallen tears. The smaller boy gripped Riku's heartstrings and his eyes widened before he could recompose himself,

"You don't know her."

Sora nodded, "Bring her around, I wanna meet her sometime."

"I will," Riku lied.

There was never a girl. Riku searched the horizon fruitlessly. He wanted nothing more than to cup Sora's face in his hands and wipe away his tears. But he had to do this. He had to distance himself from these nameless feelings he didn't understand. And what if he did like Sora? It would ruin them, and they'd be the biggest joke at school. Sora couldn't take that kind of bullying. Riku sighed and shook his head.

That day, Sora shut himself in his room and closed his blinds. "ARRRGGGH!" He screamed and threw a frame at the wall. He collapsed on his bed and sobbed, feeling his chest tighten, making it hard to breathe. He cried like that until he got tired and slept. The frame lay on the floor forgotten. Sora waved happily sitting on Riku's shoulders in the photo.

After a few years, they stopped going to the island altogether.

* * *

><p>Rain sizzled in puddles like soda pop and the sun hid behind black clouds over the islands. Sora didn't hear it over his headphones. His big blue eyes searched the pavement listlessly as he shuffled his way to school. His brown hoodie dampened, causing his school bag to slip around on his shoulder. He was sixteen now, but his countenance hadn't changed much.<p>

Sora's headphones fell away and he pretended to grimace, "Hi Kairi."

Kairi grinned, "My lil honeybear." She ruffled his spikes and skipped up to his side. Kairi was Sora's best friend now. "You ready to do some bitchin math problems?" Sora giggled at Kairi's comment and then his eyes widened, "HOLY SHIT, the test!" He started sprinting and Kairi tailed after him, "Don't tell me you forgot already? Sora, I just reminded you last night!" Sora looked at his phone frantically, "SHIT SHIT SHIT!" Kairi laughed and waved at Tidus as they flew by. Tidus tilted his head and waved tentatively. "OH MAI GAWD!" Sora screamed. Kairi laughed breathlessly, "Sora slow down! Sora!" Kairi tried to warn him but it was too late. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground in a pile of wet papers and his head hurt. He tilted his head. _I don't remember carrying any papers….Oh_. He looked up slowly and his grin fell away. Riku frowned down at him. A small crowd had gathered and was laughing. Riku's frown quickly turned into a smirk.

"Watch where you're going. .. That was my book report."

Sora blanched, "S-Sorry.." He started to get up, but Riku pushed him back down.

"Write me a new one. Tomorrow. By lunch."

Riku turned and walked away, taking the growing crowd with him. Kairi reached out and helped Sora up.

"What a dick hole," Kairi glared after him.

"Yeah…." Sora rubbed his head slowly, then smiled.

"Let's go, we're gonna be late."

Kairi smiled softly. She knew Sora's secret all too well, but she hated it.

"His loss Sora, you write the worst book reports EVER."

Sora laughed, "Shut up hoeface."

* * *

><p><strong>Next time: NEWSFLASH! Sora's book report really sucks. It's about ponies and unicorns and dewdrops and talking frogs with yellow spots, and we're all pretty sure Edgar Allen Poe didn't like any of those things.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: Seeking Promise**

**Rating: M**

**Pairings: Riku/Sora, Roxas/Axel, brief Sora/Kairi **

**Disclaimer: Oh yes! I have Kingdom Hearts! Lookit that shelf right there: I have KH1, KH2, 1.5, 2.5, 358/2 days…..does Nomura have a thing for numbers? Oh? You asked if I own the franchise and dictate thousands of peasant underlings? Aw, shucks…**

**Author's notes: I was so excited thinking chapter one was going to be as long as everyone else's first chapter. I thought, "YES! Four full pages! This is gonna pwn!" ….They were four pages beefed up by double spacing. I uploaded it and….disappointment supreme. I am a failure. BUT! I got one favorite and one follow! ;) I call that a win. Thanks! UPDATE: I GOTS TWO OF EACH! *bounce, sparkle***

* * *

><p>This particular Sunday was like any other. Tidus had stayed over at Sora's house the night before after a rigorous round of SNES games. Sora flipped through the TV channels that morning absent-mindedly while Tidus fisted a mostly-empty bag of Lays potato chips.<p>

Sora groaned, "Tidus, stop treating the bag like a homicide victim…please?"

Tidus, who had been scuba diving in the bag of chips with his face, emerged.

"Do you have any more chips?"

"No."

Sora snatched the bag and crumpled it up in his hands, tossing it over his shoulder carelessly. It landed at Aerith's feet, who stepped into the living room still damp from the shower.

She raised an eyebrow, "Really Sora?"

Sora brightened and ran over to hug his mother around the waist, "Hello mother! You look lovely today!"

Aerith smiled and hugged his head, "Nice try kiddo." She pried him from her waist with some difficulty, then pointed to the epicenter of the disaster that was once a living room, "Clean up." She smiled sweetly and shuffled away, grumbling about teenagers.

Tidus stifled a giggle when Sora pouted. Sora threw an empty Solo cup at him, "Shut up and help me, Yamada." Sora went out to the kitchen and came back with two empty trash bags. He opened one and pulled it over his companion's head.

"HEY! I'll get you for that Hinata!" Tidus flailed his arms frantically and lunged forward, executing a perfect face plant when Sora sidestepped out of the way.

After a few moments of silence, Sora nudged Tidus with his foot. "…..I killed him!"

"AHAH!"

Tidus' hand flew out of the bag and yanked Sora down by the foot, causing the boy to squeal and collapse on the other in a giggly heap of flailing limbs and trash bag plastic.

"H-Hey! Don't touch my thigh, freakin perv!"

"Well don't squeeze my hips, Jackson!"

Suddenly, the black covers were pulled away and they looked up to see a very amused Kairi, "Am I interrupting something?"

Both boys blushed furiously and flew to opposite ends of the room. Sora stuck his tongue out defiantly before turning to Kairi, "Hey Kairi, how'd you get in?"

"Aerith let me in," she smiled and perched on the couch. "I thought I'd help you with that book report Sora."

Tidus smirked and glanced between the two, "Book report, huh?" He wiggled an eyebrow, earning himself an elbow to the nutsack from Sora.

Sora, now out of breath from running to Tidus, rubbed his temples slowly and frowned.

Kairi mirrored his frown, "You forgot didn't you?"

Sora nodded slowly and Kairi sighed, "I'll clean up the mess. You go upstairs and start working. You," she pointed to Tidus, "go home because I'm sure you haven't started your homework either."

Tidus groaned loudly and grinned, "Yes, mom." He gave Sora a noogie, "You two play nice now." Sora nodded and shut the door after he left.

* * *

><p>Sora leaned back in his computer chair. He had to ask around to find out that Riku's book report was supposed to be about some poet named Edgar Allen Poe. "Wasn't that the guy with the ticking heart story?"<p>

He bit his pencil eraser in frustration. "That's not fair! He's a whole grade ahead of me, so I haven't even learned this crap yet! How am I supposed to know what kind of impact this guy did or didn't have on modern science?"

He started a Google search on Edgar Allen Poe and science, finding a poem Poe wrote titled, "Sonnet—To Science". "Great! I'll just write about this!" Sora smiled and started reading the poem. His smile inched its way into a frown, "' Hast thou not dragged Diana from her car,'…What the crap is this? And who the heck's Diana?"

Kairi laughed from the doorway, "Sora, Diana was a Roman goddess…" She crouched down by his chair. "This assignment is way out of your league. Are you sure you can do this?"

"I have no choice," He grumbled and balanced the pencil on his nose. "He'll kick my ass if I don't."

Kairi rubbed his arm, "Then let's blow him away and write an excellent book report."

* * *

><p>An excruciating six hours later, a puddle of snot and drool pooled around Sora's computer. He could faintly feel Kairi wiping it away before a pair of lips touched his forehead. He heard the window close and footsteps fading down the stairs and out the door. That was the last conscious memory he had before falling into a deep sleep.<p>

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_Sora! Sora! Where are you?"_

_A silver-haired child called out in the midst of a raging storm. He shielded his face with his arm as a wave crashed high over the shore. "Sora! This isn't funny anymore!"_

_The boy found Sora hiding under the bridge, shaking and screaming._

_"__Riku! RIKU!" He threw himself over Sora just as another wave came in and drenched them both, nearly pulling them in. Riku grabbed his hand, "C'MON!" They pushed through the wind until Riku spotted a small cave, "This way!" He guided them to the cave and let go of Sora's hand._

_Riku wrung out his hair and examined the cave for the first time, "We never should've come here without your dad."_

_"__I know," Sora whimpered. "We're gonna be in so much trouble!" He started to cry and brought his knees to his chest._

_"__Aw, c'mon Sora. You gotta be brave. It's just a storm." Riku sat down next to Sora, who clung to the older boy like a teddy bear._

_"__Riku… Riku Riku.." _

_The older boy wrapped his arms around Sora and held him until he fell asleep._

* * *

><p>Sora fell out of his chair and scraped his knee on the desk, "OOOOWWW, shit!"<p>

He could hear his mother call up from the stairs, "Sora? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, mom!"

Aerith resumed her humming downstairs.

Dazed, Sora glanced at the clock and rushed to get ready for school. Aerith pointed a spatula at his nose as he reached the foot of the stairs, "Breakfast."

"Mooom! I'm laaaaate!"

She tossed a breakfast bar at him, "Most important meal of the day!"

"Great, thanks," he pushed the spatula aside and headed for the door.

"Hey hey hey! You got your homework munchkin?"

Sora sprinted up and down the stairs like lightning. Aerith could only see a streak of white paper before the door slammed shut. She laughed and shook her head.

It was going to be a very. shitty day.

* * *

><p><strong>It's never as long as I want it to be, but I thought this was a good place to stop. The 'Jackson' bit referred to Michael Jackson. Sorry if that offends anyone. I won't bore you with the details of Poe's poetry reference, but it exists! *confetti!*<strong>

**Next time: Confrontation! Riku's being a douche again. You're surprised? Don't worry, it won't last forever. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: Seeking Promise**

**Rating: M**

**Pairings: Riku/Sora, Roxas/Axel, brief Sora/Kairi **

**Disclaimer: I got a Kairi figurine for Christmas and she sits real pretty on my boyfriend's dresser. She guards the Funko Pop collection. I don't own Kairi though; she's a real independent lady. P.S. I have no rights to the game Kingdom Hearts or its affiliated characters.**

**Author's notes: I feel like I suck at this, but once again Kingdom Hearts is the only solace in my life. I will spare you the details of my ugly unemployed-with-a-college-degree existence, but I will say that the series has helped me deal with a lot. of. shit. in the past. I thank every single viewer whether you have clicked the little favorite/follow/review button or not. I watch my feed like a hawk now. Remember when I said ****"I'm doing this purely for fun, so I'm not too worried about criticism"? ****I changed my mind. I'm happy with any kind of feedback. **

**I didn't expect this story to be limited omniscient, but I guess I just liked Sora's POV so much…If I jump around in that aspect, sorry in advance. I may or may not exclusively focus on Roxas for a couple chapters in the future. We'll see.**

* * *

><p>Sora hated Mondays with a passion. Monday was God's cheap way of saying, "start over, puny earthling. You didn't do it right last time." He sighed and blinked up at the sky. At least the sun was shining. There was a light breeze, too. It was odd weather for the middle of January.<p>

He felt a chill crawl up his spine and for a moment his body stiffened. _Shut up. The weather is nothing to get all worked up over. _Sora shook his head and started to power-walk. He was too tired to run, but if he was late again, he'd probably get detention. The emo homeroom teacher Leon was such a hard-ass. "Who in their right mind wears fifty belts at once, anyway?" Sora grumbled as he passed through the courtyard of Destiny High.

Sora made it just in time to find a window seat before Leon started speaking.

"Good morning class," he paused to mark absences silently and his eyes narrowed. When the class fell silent, he resumed his two-shits-less demeanor. "Today I'd like to introduce a new student to the class. Welcome to Destiny Islands Roxas Nosubi," he gestured half-heartedly to the skinny blond boy sitting in the back of the room.

Roxas crossed his arms and blushed. It was obvious from his frustrated expression and avoidance of eye contact, that he wasn't much of a 'people-person'. Sora also noticed his hair looked like someone just pulled it out of an angry vacuum. It was spiky, but unlike Sora's, his hair pointed in one general direction.

The blond boy grunted in response. Leon started slow-clapping, but stopped when he noticed no one else had joined in. He cleared his throat, "Well, back to your studies, the bell will ring soon." _Disrespectful little urchins._

* * *

><p>Lunchtime at Destiny High was reminiscent of that part of <em>Mean Girls<em> when they label the lunch table cliques. Sora's group in particular would be called something along the lines of "giggly schoolgirls". Although it seemed harmless, the label included the boys who sat there as well.

At the far end of the cafeteria, away from the prying eyes of staff and administrators, sat the most popular kids and whomever their 'conquests' were for that particular week. The more notable of them included Riku, Axel, and Cloud. Riku was currently munching on the neck of a giggly girl Sora remembered seeing in band camp, Axel was in a similar predicament with a girl from the soccer team, and Cloud was alone in his usual aura of self-pity and teen angst.

Sora frowned and pretended his fork and mashed potatoes were a pitchfork and hay bale.

Selphie glanced over with interest. If anyone could possibly be more high-strung than Sora, it'd be Selphie. She flashed an impish grin and stood on her seat with fork in hand, "SWORD FIGHT!"

Sora took this as his cue and did the same, flinging bits of potato everywhere, "HAVE AT THEE, WENCH!"

They began to clink their forks together, trying to stab at each other. Sora held his fork at both ends and blocked her attacks before jabbing her in the arm.

"Oooow!"

"AHAAH! I HAVE BESTED THEE! GIVE UP THINE FRUIT CUP!"

"You have fought valiantly, my liege. I bequeath to you mine only cup of diced fruit."

Selphie handed Sora her fruit cup and they both bowed before resuming their meal. Kairi applauded, "That was awesome Sora!" Sora blushed and stabbed at his 'winnings' with his fork.

Tidus chuckled, then his eyes fell on a nearby table. Roxas sat there alone, staring off into space and ignoring his meal.

"Who's that kid?"

"Oh him?" Fruit juice dribbled from Sora's chin, "That's Roxas. New kid in my homeroom."

Tidus nodded, "Selphie, go invite him over."

Selphie nearly flipped the table in getting up, "KAY!"

Moments later she was dragging an unamused Roxas over and dropping him in a chair.

"Hi Roxas," Sora was the first to speak.

"Nice to meet you," Kairi chimed in.

"Where ya from?" Selphie asked him nose-to-nose.

"Personal space, please," Roxas leaned away from Selphie's face and she sat down. "I'm from Twilight Town…a few hours away from here." He glowered at the table, not knowing what else to say.

"Well, you're welcome to sit with us from now on. You don't have to eat alone," Kairi smiled.

"….Thanks. 'Preciate it," Roxas started eating his lunch for the first time since lunch started. For some reason, he felt at ease with these four.

"Oh hey, Sora," Kairi interjected.

"Yeah?" Sora crumpled up his dirty napkin and stuffed it in his fruit cup.

"Have you handed our report off to Riku yet?"

"…No. I haven't," Sora glanced at the far end of the room and felt chunks up fruit creeping back up his throat. He gulped his lunch down again.

"Why?"

"Sora, you need to get it over with before the day's over. We don't know when it's due," Kairi frowned and followed his gaze.

Riku now had his band geek pinned to the corner behind the table and was doing….bad things.

Bad things with his mouth. And his hands.

"…..He looks pretty busy, I'll just catch up with him after school," Sora said hurriedly.

"But Sora—"

"I'LL DO IT LATER!"

Sora glared at Kairi and left the table, dropping off his tray on the way out.

Roxas watched the exchange in silence, observing that Kairi now looked as if she might cry. As they were getting up to leave, Roxas glanced at the other table again. One of the boys was starting at him intently. He would've assumed the red-head was looking at someone else nearby, if it wasn't for the feeling he was about to have a hole bore into his head from all the gawking.

Roxas blinked a few extra times. _Must be my imagination. _He dropped off his tray without a second thought.

* * *

><p>When Sora entered the courtyard thirty minutes after the last bell, he had hoped he wouldn't run into Riku again.<p>

As usual, he was wrong.

Riku stood (surprisingly) alone, by the fountain in the middle of the courtyard. He also looked.. nervous? It looked like he was waiting for someone and he kept glancing at his phone.

For some reason, Sora felt guilty. He pulled the stack of papers from his bag and approached the older boy, who turned and looked relieved.

That relief however, didn't last long.

"It's about damn time. Did you bring it?"

"Yeah…I did. Here," Sora handed him the paper.

Riku skimmed it silently, glaring between Sora and the book report. Sora's palms were sweating. He had to look away to avoid Riku's piercing gaze.

Then he ripped it up.

"That was the worst report I've ever read."

"WHAT?"

"I said, it sucks," Riku stated matter-of-fact.

"I worked hard on that! I didn't even know anything about Edgar….whatshisface!"

"Obviously," Riku sighed.

Sora clenched his fists. A few moments of silence passed as they glared daggers at one another.

"Whatever, I'll do it myself. Now piss off, I'm waiting for someone," Riku rolled his eyes and turned away from Sora.

Sora glared holes into his back before storming off.

* * *

><p>A few weeks later, the school was abuzz with talk of the Valentine's Sweetheart dance. Sora couldn't pinpoint why, but it made him very, very nervous.<p>

Selphie, on the other hand, did everything but perform a lap dance for Tidus to get him to go with her. It wasn't until a couple of days earlier that he finally got the hint and asked. She exploded with joy, causing Roxas to fall out of his chair.

It was only three days away now, and as Sora ate his lunch, he felt Kairi looking at him for some reason. _What's wrong with her lately?_

"Weeeeelll?"

Sora just now noticed that Selphie was speaking to him. 99% of the time, he tuned out her nonsense; especially when it concerned the dance.

"Huh?" He looked around. _Where'd Kairi go?_

"Are you going to ask her or not?"

"Who?"

"KAIRI!"

"Wha-ask her what?"

"TO- THUH- DANCE! Dumbass..."

Sora felt bits of food and spit hitting him in the face. Ew.

"What? The dance? What are you talking about?...We're just friends."

Sora's heart started racing and he violently stabbed one of his chicken nuggets.

"Hmph, sure you are. I see the way you guys loooook at each other," Selphie made a kissy face and Sora had to push her back down in her seat to get her away from him. She had no personal boundaries whatsoever.

"You need to ask her man," Tidus chimed in. "They take this 'dance' thing real serious," he added in a whisper.

Sora frowned. He had to admit he had considered it, and Kairi would look really cute in one of those party dresses. His ears felt hot the more he thought of the idea.

"He DOES! He totally DOES like Kairi! Just LOOK at him! He's blushing! " Selphie grinned. "Sora's got the hots for Kaaaaiiiriiii! Sora's—"

Sora clapped a hand over her mouth before she could continue.

"OW! You bit my hand Selphie!" He shook his hand and glared at her, "Now I have rabies."

Selphie giggled, "You better go ask before someone else does! I heard Seifer was planning to ask her."

And with that, Sora sped off to find Kairi.

Roxas peered over his book at Selphie, "You lied, didn't you?"

"What, me?" She pointed at herself in feigned innocence.

"Seifer didn't ask her," Roxas concluded.

She stuck her tongue out, "Fiiine, party pooper! Seifer's already got a date. But it worked! He ran after her faster than Tidus runs away from an algebra test. "

Tidus snorted.

* * *

><p>Knowing she spent her extra time in the library, Sora did not have a hard time finding Kairi.<p>

"Hey," He grabbed a chair and sat down next to her.

She barely looked up from a fashion magazine, "Hi."

"Look, Kairi, about this dance that's in a few days…"

Her features softened greatly and she closed the magazine. Sora hadn't noticed before how very graceful she was with her hands. He gulped and went on,

"I was sortaa, kinda wondering…. Did you….you know….wanna go?"

"Well yeah," Kairi held back laughter and teased him further,

"Why?"

"I mean, uh, it's okay if you wanna go with Seifer and all, or whatever, but…ah….do you wanna go…with me?" By now, Sora was beet red.

She took both of his hands in her own,

"Sora, I'd _only _go with you."

Sora grinned and kissed her cheek, "Alright!"

And with that, he skipped down the hallway like a love struck doe and reminded himself to thank Selphie when he got the chance.

* * *

><p><strong>EEEWWW, Kairi germs! And yay! A wild Roxas appears! I worked more on this one than before, so it's longer and I hope you liked it. A scene from <strong>**_Robin Hood: Men in Tights _****inspired part of the fork fight. It's the part where Robin fights the bridge guard using wooden batons. It's hilarious. Google it. I want to go watch that now….**

**Next Time: Axel asks Roxas to the dance! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: Seeking Promise**

**Rating: M**

**Pairings: Riku/Sora, Roxas/Axel, brief Sora/Kairi **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been out a couple of years after KH2. I would have completely trashed FFXIII-2 to make room for KH3 (It sucks *plays anyway*). But then Xion, Ventus, Terra, and Aqua wouldn't exist sooo…. I don't own Kingdom Hearts.**

**Author's notes: I enjoy seeing the views increasing, but I must admit a review would make me very happy. Either way, I'm having fun writing this. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

><p>As the next few days rolled by, Sora noticed his classmates had mixed expressions of disappointment and satisfaction. Riku was what Sora would refer to as 'King Shit' with his over-exaggerated swagger and excessive PDA during lunch. This was the usual for Riku, but he had increased in potency since word got around he had asked someone to the dance. <em>Smug bastard.<em> Even Selphie wouldn't shut up about wishing he had asked her instead.

Well, he had his own problems to worry about.

Like, what he would wear tonight, or if he should pick up a corsage for Kairi. He looked down and saw he had chewed the eraser clean off his pencil. _Oops._

Tidus raised an eyebrow and paused his algebra assignment to reach over and snatch Sora's pencil from him, "Dude, you've been chewing on that thing like an animal. I can help you, no need to get all primitive."

"It's not the math, Tidus. And why would I let you help me, you're worse than me," Sora whispered back.

"Then what is it?"

"The dance man, I don't know how to do them." He gasped, "I don't even know how to dance."

Tidus couldn't help but snicker at Sora's grief-stricken face. "It's easy man, you just sway back and forth. Besides, Kairi's easy. Selphie's a different story," Tidus grimaced.

"Don't talk about Kairi that way!" Sora snapped.

Tidus laughed out loud this time, drawing the classroom's attention to them.

"Is there something you boys would like to share with the class?"

"No, hee… no ma'am," Tidus squeezed out between giggles.

"Then I suggest you keep it to yourself and focus on the formulas."

Tidus smiled and shook his head while Sora pouted.

* * *

><p>Roxas had started feeling anxious whenever he ate lunch or passed Axel in the hallway. This kid had an irritating staring problem, and he had no idea why.<p>

He had done nothing to warrant this kind of behavior. He talked to no one, aside from Sora's group during lunch. He wasn't even sure Axel ate lunch because whenever Roxas looked up, he felt Axel's eyes following his every move.

What was more irritating was the fact that it was getting worse. Today it seemed as though the poor kid might explode, for some reason.

Roxas tried not to encourage him by noticing, but it was getting really, really hard not to. He glared a hole into his book instead.

"Roxas?"

He jumped. Although he was startled, the voice was soft like a bell.

"Huh?" He looked up from his book and saw Namine standing in front of him. He remembered her from Physics but they had never spoken before. He couldn't imagine why she was talking to him. She needed help with an assignment maybe?

The rest of the table fell silent and turned their attention on the newcomer.

"Hi Roxas, I'm Namine. We're in the same phsyics class?"

"Yeah… yeah I remember," he smiled pleasantly.

"Really? I'm… glad," she smiled sweetly. He just now noticed she was blushing, "I was wondering if maybe you wanted to—"

"HOLY JESUS, LOOK OUT!" Sora cried out.

Roxas turned just in time to see Axel charging at them, "Wha—"

Namine was sent flying and the entire lunchroom now gaped in silence.

Axel panted and glared before turning to a very stunned Roxas.

"Go with me," he gasped between breaths.

"What?"

"To the dance."

"WHAT the HELL are you doing?"

"Please."

"Hell no."

"Why?"

"I'm not going!"

"Why?"

Roxas was now disgusted, "I don't even KNOW you."

Axel's eyes bore into him. It was creepier from afar, but at this proximity Roxas was rendered speechless for a moment.

"Please."

"NO," Roxas glared daggers and stood up.

Axel grabbed his hand as he turned to leave, "GET OFF OF ME!" Roxas shook him free and ran from the room, which now erupted in cheers and taunts.

Sora's table however, was less than amused. They exchanged worried looks and peered at Axel with mixed fear and curiousity. Kairi ran over to help Namine, and escorted her from the room. Sora was sure she was whispering something soothing into Namine's ear.

Axel wandered back to his table with his hands in his pockets like nothing happened, but it was clear the other occupants at his table were both disgusted and confused. They started talking in hushed tones while the rest of the room picked up its usual discourse.

"What was THAT?" Tidus mused.

"Not a clue," Sora snorted.

Selphie clapped her hands together and her eyes sparkled, "AWWWW! They'd make such a cute couple!"

The rest of the table gaped at her.

"…What?"

* * *

><p>The rest of the day was a blur to Sora. He couldn't stop thinking about Roxas. He was worried. After all, the boy didn't seem to have other friends and it looked like he needed one right about now. There would be a few hours before he had to be ready for the dance. After school, Sora found Roxas sitting on the fountain's edge alone and sat down beside him.<p>

"Hey Roxas," Sora smiled.

"Hi," Roxas sighed.

"I was wonnnndering," Sora paused and grinned playfully.

"Don't EVEN ask," Roxas warned, but he was smiling too.

"Wanna come over to my place for a while?"

Roxas raised an eyebrow, "Don't you have to get ready for this 'dance'?" He waved a celebratory finger in the air sarcastically.

"I could use some help," Sora frowned.

"Hmm," Roxas chuckled. "You look like you might."

"Puh-leaaaaaaase?" Sora used his best pout.

"Fine. Let's just…get outta here," Roxas looked over his shoulder.

"Yayy!" Sora grabbed his hand and started skipping. Roxas rolled his eyes.

* * *

><p>The girls had decided to get ready at Kairi's house. It was possibly the biggest home in all of Destiny Islands, her father being a mayor.<p>

_She's so friggin lucky, _Selphie mused as she teased Kairi's hair.

"How is Namine anyway?" Selphie frowned at Kairi in the mirror.

"She sprained her ankle, but she'll be okay." Kairi frowned back, "She's pretty confused."

Selphie snorted, "I'll bet. But, Axel was pretty determined to get at Roxas." She laughed.

"Yeah, but you have to wonder why.."

"Oh but Kairi-kins, it's true love!" Selphie shoved another pin in Kairi's hair, making Kairi bite her lip in pain.

Kairi shrugged. "He should've just asked then."

"That would be far too ordinary," Selphie added.

Kairi smiled. She loved Selphie's clever simplicity. Of course she was right. It was the perfect way to capture the attention of someone as oblivious as Roxas.

She giggled, "This is gonna be fun."

"Of course it'll be fun Kai-pie, you're finally going to the dance with Sora!" Selphie grabbed her shoulders and grinned at her in the mirror. "And I get to dance with Tidy-kins!" Both girls squealed happily.

"Time for dresses!" Selphie gushed and skipped to the closet.

Kairi looked at herself in the mirror a few minutes later in her powder-blue tea dress. She was excited, but something didn't feel right. Sora told her a long time ago that his feelings for Riku were gone, so why did she still feel this aching pang in her chest? _He_ had asked _her_ to the dance, after all.

Selphie hugged her around the waist, "You'll be fine. Just be yourself… You look amazing."

She kissed Kairi on the cheek, "Oh by the way. Did you hear the rumors about Cloud? You know, the guy who sits with Riku and Axel?"

Kairi grabbed her purse from the bed, "No, why?"

She giggled, "I heard he's not going to the dance with anyone because he's holding out for someone else. Someone _older_."

"Really? Who?"

"Well, I heard he was having an affair with a teacher."

"Really? Which one?" Kairi mused.

"Don't know, but it's interesting."

"I guess," Kairi said. She wasn't too interested in Selphie's gossip.

* * *

><p>"No offense Sora, but you kinda act like a girl," Roxas wrinkled his nose.<p>

Sora rummaged through his closet for the fifth time. After picking a corsage on the way home, Sora tried on four different outfits and didn't like a single one of them.

Roxas was getting impatient.

"Let me help," he sighed and pushed Sora out of the way.

"I don't want to look _too _formal," Sora pouted. "But it's gotta be tasteful!"

Roxas snorted, ignoring him. He fingered through the mess of closet gingerly and frowned in thought. A few moments later he emerged with a pair of black pants, a belt, a white button up, and a black tie. He laid them out neatly.

"Keep it simple."

Sora tried them on and examined them in the mirror skeptically until Roxas rolled up his sleeves and helped him tuck in his shirt, "There."

Sora gasped at himself, "How'd you do that?"

Roxas rolled his eyes and tossed him a watch he found lying on the desk, "Don't lose track of the time."

Sora nodded, "Thanks."

"Mmhm," Roxas stared out the window.

"Are we gonna talk about the Axel thing?"

Roxas frowned, "There's not much to talk about."

Sora pressed further, "But why'd he do that?"

"…..Dunno." His eyes narrowed, "I don't know him at all, but he's been staring at me for weeks. It's getting old."

Sora nodded, "Maybe he…uh… likes you?"

Roxas shook his head violently, "That's weird."

Sora shrugged, "Tell him you're straight, then."

Nodding absently, Roxas couldn't help but wonder why such a crazy, irrational, and extremely popular boy wanted anything to do with quiet, reserved Roxas. He trailed his finger over the patterns in the wood of Sora's nightstand_. His eyes were so_…. Roxas frowned. He couldn't even place words to how he felt about that, or the odd way his heart leapt when Axel spoke. He stared at Sora's nightstand like that for a good five minutes.

"Uh…..Roxas?"

"Huh?"

Sora tilted his head and smiled. _I see. _

"I have to go get Kairi now."

"Oh…..Okay," Sora walked Roxas to the door and they said their goodbyes.

_Don't worry. I'll keep your secret safe. _

* * *

><p>Destiny Islands was such a small town that Sora could walk Kairi to the dance in twenty minutes. He rubbed his eyes. Aerith took so many pictures before he left that he had a hard time walking straight at first.<p>

When Kairi answered the door, all of Sora's coherent thoughts drifted away with the passing breeze.

"You're b- you're beau- …. You look great," Sora managed.

She giggled, "Thank you. You look handsome yourself."

Sora had such a difficult time with the corsage that Kairi had to help him slide it on her wrist. She took his shaking hands in her own. Hers were soft and delicate as ever, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," He gulped and nodded.

After some small talk, they started holding hands and fell silent until they reached the booming gymnasium.

The dance looked pretty boring aside from the decorations the committee put up. Most of the students either milled around chatting or planted themselves in chairs along the wall. The braver students danced closer to the DJ's platform while the brash ones made out with each other in the darker corners. Sora didn't know what to do. He decided to let Kairi lead the way.

Unfortunately for Sora, Kairi didn't really know what to do either. She eventually lead them to their friends.

"Soraaa maan, long time no see!" Wakka fist-bumped Sora when they met up. Wakka was a year ahead of them, so Sora didn't have any classes with him and he usually sat with the jocks, but every so often Wakka stopped by to say hi. He was closer friends with Tidus since they were both on the soccer team, but they had all become friends as a result.

"Heeeey Wakka!" Sora grinned.

"Bout time you two lovebirds hooked up, yeah?"

Wakka elbowed Sora so hard he doubled over. Wakka didn't know his own strength.

"I guess," Sora coughed and played it off. He was surprised he didn't cough up blood this time.

Wakka laughed heartily, "I'm here with Lulu. She's got great assets, if you know what I mean." He winked.

Sora really didn't understand Wakka's fascination with Lulu. She was the queen of the Goths, the absolute polar opposite of Wakka. She did have huge tits though. Not that Sora was really interested in that sorta thing.

"Yeah, I see that," Sora's eyes wandered until they fell on Riku.

"Huh?"

Riku had somehow detached himself from his date, and was looking pretty pissed, though Sora couldn't imagine why.

Kairi obscured his view, "Hey stranger!"

"Hey," Sora grinned.

"Wanna dance?"

Sora just noticed a slow song had started.

"Sure," he blushed.

Kairi grabbed his hand and squeezed it as she pulled them out to the center of the floor.

_Oh shit, I forgot I can't dance!_

Seeing the look on Sora's face made Kairi crack up. As if reading his mind, she guided his hands to her hips while she wrapped her own around his neck. Then she came so close Sora thought his heart might pound out of his chest.

"Thank you for bringing me here," She leaned into his shoulder and they started to sway.

_It really is just swaying….Tidus, you clever bastard._

"Thanks for coming," Sora now felt at ease. Suddenly, dancing was the simplest thing in the world. It came so naturally and Kairi made him feel so comfortable. So, when he hugged her tighter, he knew she wouldn't mind.

"Kairi?"

"Yeah?"

Sora bit his lip. He could smell her hair at this angle. _Huh. Strawberries._

"Do you like me?"

She lifted her head to look up at him and nodded slowly.

Sora brushed her hair aside and swooped down to kiss her.

Kairi met him halfway and tightened her grip on his neck.

When they finally parted, Kairi grinned up at him.

"Do you like me?"

Sora smiled and kissed her again. He nodded, "Will you go out with me?"

Kairi blushed, "Sure."

Sora held up his hand and they high-fived.

As usual, Selphie bounded up out of nowhere and locked Sora in a fierce noogie, "WAY TO GO CASANOVA!"

"Stop stop stop," Sora pried her off and grinned.

By now Tidus had caught up with Selphie, "So that's where you went." He was panting.

Selphie flicked Tidus on the nose, "THEY'RE DATING! I SAW THE WHOLE THING!"

Tidus rubbed his nose, "Geez, no need to tell the universe. And you only saw because you insisted on following them the whole time."

Sora started laughing but stopped short when he heard an icy voice behind them, "Congratulations, loser."

"Hey, who asked you, dickhead?" Tidus glared up at Riku, who smirked in response.

"You know," Riku snaked an arm around Kairi's waist. "Your girlfriend's pretty; far too pretty for a child like you, Sora."

Sora pushed Riku off, "Get lost."

Riku grabbed Sora by the wrists and twisted them until Sora kneeled in pain.

"Sora!" Kairi shrugged herself between them.

Riku let go and grabbed Kairi by the chin, "You shouldn't be hanging out with scum. If you change your mind, you'll let me know?"

He let go and glared at Sora before he sauntered off.

* * *

><p><strong>I smell jealousy! <strong>

**Next time: Chaos in paradise, the tension rises.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Title: Seeking Promise**

**Rating: M**

**Pairings: Riku/Sora, Roxas/Axel, brief Sora/Kairi **

**Disclaimer: Owning Kingdom Hearts would mean Disney's code of ethics would include homosexuality and heavy petting. Unfortunately, I don't so it doesn't. But who knows? The world is really changing out there. Maybe someday..**

**Author's notes: Not only did I get my first review, but I now have two! I've gotten more feedback than I ever expected, so thank you, thank you, thank you!**

**I can die happily now. Thank you sullykaystar and YouJustWatch! :D Poor Riku has so much pent up angst and jealousy, he might have a stroke. Thankfully, I need him to make things fluffy, so he won't be imploding anytime soon. I used to be a Sora/Kairi fan actually. It took one amazing fanfic to slap me in the face and tell me, "No, this is the true meaning of life." So I cried out "YES MASTAH," and began my glorious descent into the wonderful world of yaoi. However, I was left with this crater of guilt because I didn't know what to do with my leftover feelings for characters like Kairi and Xion. I still have a special little niche in my heart for Sora/Kairi and Xion/Roxas (especially the latter), but in comparison to my favorite pairings, they're almost boring. **

**I digress. I had to change chapter one, because somewhere along the way I decided Sora and Riku were a year apart. It's a small change so no need to re-read yet. If you notice any more discrepancies like that, let me know so I can fix 'em. **

**I do realize I have issues with the balance between detail and dialogue/action. I either have too much of one or the other. But, I'm trying to work on that. I really hope I can keep writing stuff you guys will enjoy. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

><p><em>The sand was warm on Sora's back, and he wanted to burrow himself beneath it to protect him from the chilly air of the night. His small hands gripped at the fabric of his cargo shorts. He didn't know what to do with his hands, and hoped in vain that pulling at his shorts might make them longer.<em>

_He stared up at the passing indigo clouds for a while in silence. Then, he closed his eyes and listened to the breathing patterns of his companion lying beside him. A few more minutes passed before Sora broke the silence,_

_"Riku"_

_"Hmm?" His friend's eyes were also shut._

_Sora debated his next response, as he hadn't planned what to say next._

_"Nothing," He sighed._

_Riku was intrigued enough to open his eyes now. He turned on his side and propped his head up on his elbow, which quickly sank down in the sand._

_"What is it?" He poked Sora on the nose._

_Sora squirmed around in the sand. Riku wondered if he was trying to make some kind of 'sand angel' and smiled fondly in the dark._

_"What's a 'kiss'?" Sora wrinkled his brow thoughtfully._

_Riku sighed, "Why do you ask?"_

_"Well" Sora pressed on, "I saw grown-ups doing it on TV and I've heard of it before, but I've never really seen it much in real life."_

_"Hm," Now Riku didn't know what to say._

_"Have you ever been kissed Riku? Do you know what it's like?"_

_Riku thought about it and bit his lip, "No, I haven't."_

_He added, "I just know that's what people do when they love each other."_

_Sora frowned, "Love?"_

_"Yeah, when two people care a lot about each other. That's called love."_

_"Oh, right." The younger child stared up at the pulsing stars peeking out from behind the clouds. He thought about how many times his mom had told him that. She would kiss his forehead a lot, too._

_"Do you love me Riku?"_

_Riku traced a shooting star with his finger, _

_"Yeah, I guess I do."_

_Sora wiggled his body deeper in the sand and grinned, "and I love you RIku! Lots and lots!" _

_He grasped at the air in an attempt to catch the shooting star._

_It ignored him and kept its steady course through the night sky._

_"Hey," Riku crawled over to where Sora was lying. _

_Riku's eyes gleamed with determination, which didn't go unnoticed by the younger boy, "What is it?" _

_Riku's cheeks grew hot, "Close your eyes." His friend obliged. Riku leaned in until his silver locks danced over Sora's face._

_"Rikuu! That tickles!" The brunette giggled._

_Both boys could hear their hearts racing and felt their warm breath mingle in the cool air._

_Riku gently placed his lips over Sora's. Not knowing what to do after that, he pulled away slowly and they looked at each other._

_"How was that?"_

_"Okay, I guess. It didn't look like that in the movie."_

_"No?" Riku grimaced. _

_Maybe they didn't do it right?_

_Sora touched and licked at his own lips, trying to place how he felt about the kiss. It didn't feel like the kisses his mom gave him,_

_"I think I liked it better."_

_Riku laid down again, crossing his arms behind his head. _

_"Now you know," He smiled._

* * *

><p>The fleeting words of dream Riku reverberated in Sora's head, making him groan and clutch tighter at his pillow. The morning sunlight streamed through the window and the normally invisible dust particles floated around in the brightening beams. If it wasn't such a pretty sight, Sora would regret keeping his blinds open because the brightness annoyed and blinded him at first.<p>

He peeked out from his nest of covers and let his eyes adjust to the light. Aerith could be heard rummaging through her cookware downstairs. He assumed she was making her famous Saturday chocolate-chip pancakes. He licked his lips greedily and stumbled his way downstairs.

"Did you have a good night sweetheart?" Aerith slid a stack of flapjacks under his nose as he sat down.

Sora grumbled an affirmative response.

She raised an eyebrow, "Okay chubby-cheeks, you never ignore flapjacks for more than a few seconds." She sat down and watched Sora prod at his stack with a fork, "What happened? Did Kairi turn you down?"

Sora looked up for the first time, "No, we had a great time."

Aerith was genuinely surprised, "Then what's wrong?"

Sora shook his head and smiled, "It's nothing. Let's eat!" He dove into his pancakes with renewed vigor.

"When you're ready to talk, I'll be here chipmunk," Aerith rubbed his arm gingerly.

He paused with cheeks full of pancake and grinned. Maple syrup oozed down his chin. He really did look like a chipmunk.

"I've goff a date wiff Fairi doday," bits of cake fell from his mouth as he tried to talk with his mouth full.

His mother laughed and stood up to ruffle his hair, "Congratulations."

She made her way back into the kitchen to clean up. _He's finally dating Kairi, _she mused to herself. _But, he doesn't seem too happy about it. _Aerith frowned. Her son was not very hard to read, and she'd known him for years. He used to jump up and down at the prospect of even seeing Kairi, but now he wasn't even eating normally. Something was up.

Sora got up from the table a few minutes later and went upstairs to change. Once again, he had no idea what to wear. He decided to cling to Roxas' advice from before and keep it simple. He put on his favorite pair of jeans and a long-sleeved red shirt.

"Well," he glanced over at his picture of Kairi laughing. "Time to go," he left the house and went to pick Kairi up.

She had dressed up a little more than Sora with her favorite pink sweater and jeans. He couldn't help but stare a little as they walked. She was pretty, sure, but he remembered getting more excited when they went out. They held hands and went to their favorite ice cream parlor.

* * *

><p>Destiny's Sweets doubled as both an ice cream parlor and a candy shop. It was one of the usual hangouts for the students of Destiny High. It was also Kairi and Sora's favorite place to chat.<p>

Sora approached the counter ordered their usual: a milky way ice cream for Sora and a royalberry ice cream for Kairi. He assumed it was a date, so he ordered and paid for Kairi this time. They sat down and started to eat.

"Hey Sora… Kairi," Roxas waved timidly from the table next to them.

"Oh, hey Roxas!" Sora felt a wave of relief from no longer having to be alone with Kairi. Kairi however, huffed a little with irritation.

Roxas smiled, "On a date?"

"Yeah," Sora blushed. "What are you doing here Roxas?"

Roxas waved his popsicle a little, "I love their sea-salt ice cream."

Just as Roxas left to a different table to give the couple some space, the door's bell tinkled as another group arrived.

Sora and Roxas simultaneously choked on their ice cream. Sora suffered a brain freeze and cradled his head in his hands.

"Sora? Are you okay?" Kairi grimaced and rubbed his hand.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He glanced over at Riku and Axel. They chatted animatedly with Cloud, who worked behind the counter. They got their sweets without paying and sat down. _Must be nice to know someone. _

Riku met Sora's stare with a satisfied smirk.

"Sora?" Kairi tried again to capture Sora's attention. Riku's smirk widened and Sora's heart got tangled up in his throat.

"Huh?" Kairi looked upset.

"Please don't worry about that jerk Sora; for my sake?"

Sora's gaze softened and he squeezed her hand, "Sure".

_He's just angry, _Kairi resisted the urge to feel jealous and smiled brightly. It was a fake smile.

* * *

><p>Roxas visibly bristled the moment he felt Axel approaching. Axel thought the blonde might have a conniption fit when he sat down beside him. He scooted the chair back to keep from striking distance.<p>

"What?" Roxas spat.

"Nothing," Axel smirked and took a bite of his popsicle. It was sea-salt, just like Roxas'.

The younger boy finished his ice cream and crossed his arms, "Would you please, I dunno..leave?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Cause I wanna sit with you."

"Well, I don't want you to sit with me."

"Too bad."

Axel blocked Roxas' path when he tried to get up.

"Would you MOVE?"

Roxas blushed and had to look away when Axel started staring again. He threw his popsicle stick at Axel, who caught it easily.

"What is your problem?"

"My problem?" Axel raised an eyebrow and Roxas nodded.

"I don't have a problem…" Axel tilted his head in confusion.

"Then why are you following me?"

"Because I think you're cute," Axel preened.

Roxas' jaw dropped and he could hear Riku laughing hysterically from behind them. Roxas turned an interesting shade of scarlet.

"SHUT UP," he screamed. "That's not funny!"

"It's not supposed to be funny," Axel's eyes narrowed and Roxas, though furious, drew back in fear.

Axel caught Roxas' big blue eyes in his own. Both sets were focused, trying to figure the other out. A tense moment passed before Axel spoke again.

"Go out with me."

"Wha—"

"Just one time. That's it. If you don't like it, then I'll leave you alone…You have my word," Axel winced, regretting his last statement.

"You'll leave me alone?"

"Yes."

"You'll stop the staring?"

"Yes."

"I have your word?"

"You have my word."

Roxas groaned. It was the second time they had enraptured the attention of an entire room. He hated being the center of attention, but had to admit it was a little exciting.

"Whatever," Roxas shouldered him out of the way and slipped out the door of the shop.

"Hey wait," Axel was cut off by the tinkling bell of the door. He smiled to himself.

_I'll assume that was a yes._

* * *

><p>Kairi and Sora turned to face each other again. Kairi shared her impeccable power of insight, "They're going to fall in love."<p>

Unlike Kairi, Sora wasn't so great at predicting even the most obvious of outcomes.

"You really think so?" He thought back to the previous day, when Roxas stared at his nightstand like he might make out with it.

Kairi nodded, "Yeah".

They looked up to see Cloud standing next to their table. Sora faintly heard snickering as the bell rang a third time.

"Here's the bill," Cloud slid a piece of paper on the table.

"What bill? We paid when we came in," Sora's eyes narrowed.

Cloud gestured towards the door cautiously, "Riku said you would pay for him and Axel."

Cloud apparently had no idea Riku had done this without Sora's knowledge.

Sora stood up, slapping his palms on the table. He slammed a ten dollar bill on the table, making Cloud jump slightly at the sound.

"Keep the change," Sora grumbled and grabbed Kairi's hand.

"Let's go Kairi," Kairi mouthed an apology to Cloud as she stumbled out the door.

"Sora, you're hurting me!" Kairi cradled her hand when Sora let go.

He instantly felt guilty and kissed her cheek, "Sorry, Kai".

She had not expected their first date to go this way and now fought the urge to cry. Not only had Sora completely ignored her, but she started to worry about their encounters with Riku. He had never even approached them before, but now….

They were at Kairi's doorstep.

"I'm sorry I ruined our date," Sora scratched the back of his head and kicked at the sidewalk.

"It's okay." She opened the door and looked over her shoulder, "You wanna come in?"

He shrugged, "Sure."

Kairi smirked to herself and led him up to her room by the hand, closing her door behind them. Sora sat down on the bed and blinked. There was a clear difference in her attitude. Kairi had never acted like this before. He looked up as she was kicking off her shoes. She plopped down beside him.

_I will take initiative for once. I've always waited for him to come to me. I'm so tired of waiting._ Kairi bit at her lips hungrily.

Sora tilted his head curiously, "What's wrong Kai?"

Kairi grabbed his shoulders and pushed him to lie down on the mattress. She sat on him and straddled his hips.

Sora blushed, "Kairi?"

"Sora," she breathed in his ear. She bit his lobe gently before sitting up again. Sora shivered.

"Have you ever been kissed? I mean, before last night?" she asked.

Sora stared up at the ceiling absently.

_"Do you love me Riku?"_

He bristled.

"No," he lied.

"Good," Kairi sighed. "I can't believe I didn't ask earlier. I was saving my first."

"For who?" Sora panicked. Did he steal a kiss she was saving for someone else?

"You, silly!" She brushed a stray hair from Sora's face. He closed his eyes comfortably.

"Kiss me Sora," she begged. When he opened his eyes, something in her face reminded Sora of desperation, though he couldn't place why. He decided to oblige.

Kairi pushed against him as they kissed and brushed her hands through his messy locks. She deepened the kiss and Sora could feel her breasts squishing on his chest.

_I've wanted this for so long. I've wondered how her boobs might feel or what she might look like naked, but I never thought it would actually happen. _

Sora rubbed her back and felt her moan on his lips. He wondered if it might be too soon for this. Correction: It was definitely too soon for this. They had only started dating the night before.

He heard a familiar voice cry out in his mind,

_ "Sora!"_

Sora was hard.

"I love you," Kairi breathed. Her breath fluttered across Sora's abdomen. It was only then he realized where she was.

"Kairi, stop."

Sora placed his palms on either side of Kairi's head and pulled her up to kiss her. He pulled away when she tried to deepen the kiss.

He tucked his exposed flesh back into his pants feverishly. The shock and realization were falling on him in waves now.

"I'm not ready for this, it's too soon."

Kairi's face fell, but she looked back up at him with a gentle smile.

"You're right. We should take this slow."

Sora nodded, then added with a laugh, "You act like you're already a pro."

She snickered and grinned up at him, "You think so?"

"Yeah," Sora giggled and stroked her head. Her hair was so soft.

"You sure you haven't done this before?" He winked.

Kairi nodded and hiked her ass in the air playfully, "I'm a regulation hottie."

* * *

><p>Sora waited to leave until he calmed down and went home for the night. He wondered why Kairi had taken it so far. He felt like he wanted her and they already knew almost everything about each other, but still…<p>

_ "I just know that's what people do when they love each other."_

He climbed under the covers and tried to think about Kairi and her breasts.

Nothing happened.

* * *

><p><strong>Ouch! Poor Sora just can't get a hard-on for Kairi. This will get worse later. You're welcome ;) Seriously though, I had absolutely NO idea the chapter would go in this direction until I started the date. Sorry about the explicit scene but hey, it's rated M! Anything could happen! <strong>

**P.S. Sora and Kairi's ice cream flavors are names from a mini-game in BBS. They all look soo delicious…**

**Next time: Axel and Roxas initiate a date, Kairi and Sora's relationship issues continue, and Riku makes everything worse.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Title: Seeking Promise**

**Rating: M**

**Pairings: Riku/Sora, Roxas/Axel, brief Sora/Kairi **

**Disclaimer: Riku held Sora's face in his hands, softly caressing the red of his cheeks with his thumbs. He leaned in and—**

**CUT! That's a wrap boys, Disney will never print this shit.**

**Sora: But!**

**Tiffany: Nope, sorry Sora. If I owned you boys, you could have all the gay sex you wanted. Unfortunately, I don't.**

**Sora: *pout***

**Author's notes: Dear Lord, I have five reviews. That's like, one review per chapter! I'm so excited, I'm worried about turning into one of those pompous assholes who feel superior and ignore everyone else. **

**Not to worry! That will never happen! Though, I am feeling pretty fancy right now. **

**Thank you MissAudacious13, Luna, and AiMila! You made me gasp in awe at finding two reviews at once, and then gasp again while I was literally writing this note. That's like getting TRIPLE Christmas. Go teamwork! As always, I will do my best to keep writing stuff my readers might like (while keeping true to myself and whatnot).**

**That being said, I'll admit I was a little worried about throwing Kairi to her inner-wolf last chapter. I even went back and changed my wording a little (the first 30+ readers saw the original), but it wasn't much. My point is, Kairi is feeling pretty lost. She is sweet and has a pretty good conscience but at the same time, she wants Sora for herself. She immediately senses Sora's new lack of attraction and wants to reel him back in and make him see her as a girlfriend instead of a best friend. I'll ride that excuse into the horizon. In the meantime, I'll try and redeem her. **

**Sora is now having a hard time feeling sexually aroused with Kairi. The only reason he did rise to the occasion (though currently unknown to Sora) was imagining Riku shouting his name. That was clear to me. Not sure if it was as clear to you, so I thought I'd point that out, just in case.**

* * *

><p>Roxas peered around the corner cautiously from beneath his bright yellow hat.<p>

The coast was clear and he breathed a sigh of relief before power-walking down the hall to his next class. He realized his hat was much too yellow to remain inconspicuous, but it blended in with the spears of hair sticking out the sides and it didn't match Roxas' dark personality at all. It was the perfect disguise in his escape from the evil flames that consumed his thoughts.

There had to be some sort of law against taking over someone's mind in such a fashion. He had no idea that a bigoted idiot could concoct such a diabolical scheme. Roxas wondered if Axel really worked for the government and monitored his thoughts.

He gasped. What if they hid some sort of camera setup in his home! Perhaps they could see him eating, or sleeping, or…

Showering.

Roxas narrowed his eyes and tried to slap the red from his face. Obviously, it didn't help at all. Quite the opposite. He shifted the way he held his notebook.

"Heeey, Roxas."

"IT'S NOT ME!" Roxas screamed and jumped a good five feet.

"Whoa whoa man, what's with you?"

Wakka began backing away slowly, "Sorry…geez."

Roxas' shoulders drooped, "Oh…Wakka…"

He foggily remembered Tidus introducing them one day during lunch. From what he gathered, Wakka was an overactive boy who had an obsession with some form of religious cult.

Wakka grinned, "Wassup?"

"Nothing…nothing. How'd you know it was me?"

Wakka pointed to the mass of keychains dangling from Roxas' bag, "That's your bag, yeah?"

Roxas groaned and shoved his hat in his bag.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with that Axel fellow?"

"How…did you know about that?" Roxas stopped wrestling with his bag long enough to listen.

"Oh, the whole school's been talkin about it, yeah? I never know you went _that _way man!" He elbowed Roxas, who fell to the ground clutching at his side.

Wakka completely ignored him and continued talking, "But, good for you yeah? I can totally see the two of you hooking up."

Roxas sputtered, "H-Hooking up? We're not—"

"See you later man!" Wakka left Roxas just as the bell rang.

He used the lockers to pull himself out of fetal position and went to class, brooding the whole way.

* * *

><p>"You did WHAT?" Selphie squealed at Kairi, who shifted uncomfortably in the desk beside her.<p>

"I know, I know. I crossed the line.."

"Crossed the line? Crossed the—Kairi, you might as well say you smuggled midgets across the Mexican border!" Selphie spat in a hushed whisper. Her dinner-plate eyes made Kairi nervous. She looked as though she'd just seen Betty White's naked body.

"What—"

"Kairi, you little vixen you!"

Selphie grinned at her dreamily, "I wish Tidus would ravage me the way Sora's doing you."

"No, Selphie you don't get it… We didn't."

"You…Didn't?" Her mouth dropped, "But, you showed him the goods?"

Kairi turned beet red, "No, no. Were you listening to anything I just said?"

Selphie shrugged, "I stopped listening after 'blow job'."

Kairi sighed and rubbed her temples, "Please be serious."

The brunette finally grimaced back at her, "Just apologize. Sora's never been one to hold anything against you. He thinks the world of you, Kairi. You just got caught up in the moment. Tell him that."

Kairi nodded, but felt the pool of guilt deepening in her stomach.

* * *

><p>There was nothing that troubled Axel more than the pure existence of the blonde sitting at the other end of the lunchroom. Every other moment his mind was completely consumed with what smells, tastes, smiles, and sounds the other boy might have stored away. His eyes looked like blue sky etched into hard marble. He had to have him.<p>

He had to put this kid under him somehow.

But for some reason, every time he pulled the moves on Roxas he was rejected. That was possibly the part that frustrated Axel the most. No one ever turned Axel down before. He was irresistible. All the girls and boys in Destiny High would kill for the chance to be fucked by Axel. He didn't even have to try. People approached him all the time with proposals.

But not Roxas.

Roxas was a complete enigma to him, and no matter how much Axel tried he just couldn't rapture the affections of the blonde boy of his dreams.

So, when he finally found this opening, he wasn't about to let it slip away.

"Roxas?"

Roxas scooted his chair a couple feet away when Axel sat down at lunch.

"Now what?"

Axel delicately pulled a book out of the boy's hands and their eyes met.

Roxas immediately averted his gaze and pinked.

"Are you free tonight?"

Roxas opened his mouth to speak, but struggled with his words. It was absolutely adorable. Perhaps he would finally make some progress. Axel smiled.

"I…have a lot of homework to do and…" He trailed off and reddened. Axel thought he might pop a blood vessel.

"It won't take long. Meet me at the park. Five o'clock," Axel grinned and made his way back over to his own table, leaving Roxas to melt into a puddle of mush before slapping himself back to reality.

"Don't you look happy," Riku sneered when he saw Axel coming back.

Axel smirked.

"Well, did you do it?"

He nodded, "I'll have Roxas in bed before the end of the month."

Riku fist-bumped his buddy, "Right on."

There was something strange about the way Axel was smiling. Riku noted that he hadn't taken on any new conquests for weeks. Their little game of 'highest score' was becoming a one-man race and Riku resented that. He lazily glanced over at the table Axel just came from, and felt his nails bite into a fist.

Kairi was giggling and sitting on Sora's lap while he combed her hair and talked animatedly. It was disgusting.

They hadn't been friends in a long time, but now that there was a girl in the picture that Sora honestly cared for, Riku felt like he'd been slapped in the face.

_What a joke, _he snorted.

"What's wrong baby?" The girl in his own lap turned his head to face hers. He didn't even remember her name. He smirked and shut her lips with his own.

* * *

><p>Roxas weighed the possibilities heavily as he sifted through his closet. <em>Just what do you even wear to a date with another guy anyway? <em>He wrinkled his nose. _Why am I even thinking about doing this?_

He cradled his head in his hands, "I can't believe I'm doing this. I can't do this. I shouldn't even give him the satisfaction of seeing me."

Suddenly, he remembered all the girls he saw Axel with when he first moved to Destiny Islands. _What if this is a cruel prank and he doesn't show up? Or worse, if I'm being played out and he's just trying to sleep with me... I'm not even gay!_

Roxas threw himself on the bed and kicked his legs in a mini-tantrum. He hated making people wait for him, but he hated Axel.

He hated Axel so much.

It drove him crazy when Axel stared at him with those emerald eyes. He hated the way there was darkness in them that didn't scare him. Instead, they excited him. He hated feeling completely helpless whenever Axel was around.

So, when Roxas finally gathered the courage to go to the park and saw Axel waiting there, looking dejected and ready to give up and leave, he almost ran in the opposite direction. He seriously contemplated this until Axel managed to notice him.

Axel grinned ear to ear.

"I uh, thought you weren't gonna show," Axel scratched the back of his head, not sure what else to say.

"Yeah, whatever," Roxas scoffed.

Axel frowned and started walking. To his surprise, Roxas actually started to follow him.

"So where are you from?" Axel attempted to make small talk.

"Twilight Town"

"Oh, I have a few friends there. You know Hayner?"

Roxas was genuinely surprised, "Yeah, he's my best friend."

Axel nodded, "He's pretty cool."

A few minutes of tense silence passed before Axel spoke again.

"I saw you read poetry a lot…"

"Yeah," Roxas counted the tiles in the sidewalk.

"Who's your favorite?"

"Walt Whitman"

Axel hummed in approval, "He was homosexual right?"

Roxas shoved his hands in his pockets, "People tend to think so, but no one really knows."

A beat of silence passed.

"and I unremark'd seated in a corner," Axel recited

"Of a youth who loves me and whom I love," Roxas added

"silently approaching and seating himself near,"

"that he may hold me by the hand,"

"Annnd I forget the rest," Axel grinned sheepishly.

Roxas laughed, "I never would've guessed you liked poetry."

"Well, maybe not," Axel admitted. "But I thought he was kinda cool, I guess. I remember reading it in class once."

Roxas could feel himself getting comfortable in Axel's presence. He let his shoulders drop.

"So, what do you like to do for fun?"

This question surprised Axel. He tried to think of hobbies or places he liked to go, but realized most of the things he did were either because he was impressing a girl or because Riku wanted to do it. He had never seriously thought about it before.

Well, there was one thing.

"I'll show you," Axel led them to a water tower at the edge of town and started climbing a ladder to the top.

"Is this even legal?" He could hear Roxas calling skeptically from behind him.

"Aw, c'mon. A little juvenile delinquency never hurt. Besides, you know you like the view."

Roxas looked away from Axel's ass, but didn't like the view of the ground any better.

"You alive back there?" Axel could feel a growing tension behind him.

"Yeah," Roxas gulped.

"Well good," Axel sat on the catwalk and reached out to help Roxas up.

"_This_ is what you do for fun?" Roxas panted and leaned back to avoid looking at the ground again.

"Yup," Axel took a lighter from his pocket and started flicking it on and off.

"You play with fire, you wet the bed," Roxas warned.

"Hush, mom," Axel pocketed the lighter again.

"And that's not what I do for fun. This," he pointed at the sunset. "That's what I come up here for. Sometimes I paint on the tower, too."

Roxas stared at the horizon in awe. Who knew Axel would be a sentimentalist? He stood up and started walking around the catwalk, inspecting the graffiti. The general theme consisted of flames, hearts, and chains. One he particularly liked was a rose surrounded by a chain of thorns.

"Wow…"

Axel watched the catwalk uneasily, "Roxas, be careful. It's unstable over that way."

Roxas ignored him and followed a winding trail of flames until,

_CRACK._

He felt the grating under his feet wobble and give way. There was a terrible sound of grinding metal and the next thing he knew, he was dangling and screaming his lungs out. Axel held him by the arm,

"Roxas!"

Tears streamed down Roxas' face and he looked up at his rescuer. Axel's face was strained in the difficulty of holding Roxas up with one arm. He held out his other hand and Roxas threw his dangling arm up to grab it. Axel pulled him up with such force, they both tumbled backward.

Axel sat up against the wall of the tower and pulled Roxas into his arms. The younger boy was crying and shaking uncontrollably, and Axel held him quietly until he stopped.

That's when Roxas realized how close they were. He could feel Axel's breath on his cheek, smell his aftershave, and he felt the cold sweat that was rubbing off on Roxas' arms. Axel, on the other hand, was still too worried about Roxas to pay attention to anything else.

"You okay?" Axel breathed.

"Yeah…" Roxas looked up at him expectantly. The rhythm's in Axel's breath calmed him. He could feel Axel's heartbeat synchronize with his own and their half-lidded eyes matched.

As if by instinct, Axel leaned in close. He waited for Roxas to close the gap.

But he never did.

"Thank you," Roxas wiggled out of his arms and stood up unsteadily. Axel held out a hand to catch him in case he fell again, but drew back when he didn't.

The sun had set, giving the moment a finality that Axel deeply resented.

As they walked home, Axel put his hands in his pockets and ran his fingers over the lighter. Out of all the dates he'd been on, he'd never forget this one night.

He'd just hoped it wasn't the last.

* * *

><p>A month passed, and Sora had all but forgotten the awkward night with Kairi. She had apologized and he shook it off, agreeing they would forget it ever happened.<p>

He couldn't, however, shake the never-ending nightmare that was now Riku. Almost every day now Riku would trip Sora, or as he was walking to his table Riku would reach under his lunch tray and push it into Sora's face. He often pushed Sora or shouldered him roughly as they passed in the halls. On particularly bad days, Sora went home dripping wet from a swirly. The swirlies were never given by Riku himself, but he could assume that Riku sent the students who did.

When he mentioned it to Kairi, she urged him to tell an adult. Sora only shook his head and didn't mention it to her again.

Whether it was because of Riku or not, Sora didn't know, but Kairi and Sora did little more than hold hands anymore. Whenever Kairi did invite him anywhere, he politely declined and said there was a lot on his mind, or that he had a lot of homework or studying to do.

He began to develop dark circles under his eyes and his friends wondered if he slept at all.

"Kairi keeping you up at night man?" Tidus tried to lighten the mood.

Kairi sighed and rolled an apple between her hands.

Even Selphie stared off as if in a daze.

"Would someone please say something for the love of all things holy?"

Selphie spoke up this time, "Shut up Tidus."

Tidus shrugged and went back to eating.

"You haven't banged her _yet_?" Riku whispered in Sora's ear, making him shudder.

He wondered just how long Riku had been standing there while Riku pushed a chair between the couple and sat down.

"Hi Kairi," Kairi rolled her eyes and huffed.

"My sentiments exactly. Well, if you don't do it, someone else might have to," Riku grabbed Kairi and gave her a rough kiss. He was met with a slap in the face.

He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and grinned, "They were right. You _are _a good kisser."

As Riku walked away, Sora's hands balled into white fists and he stood up.

"What are you going to do Sora? Beat me up? I'm only doing what you refuse to do. Unless you like kissing boys?" Riku had turned and with his last remark, glared knowingly.

Sora's eyes welled up with tears as he glared at Riku, then he looked at Kairi.

Before Kairi could properly react to being kissed by one boy, she was being kissed by another. Sora probed her mouth with his tongue and reached under her shirt to squeeze her breast.

At first, Riku looked like he might punch Sora in the face, but he softened into a faint smile.

"Your act only fools an audience."

* * *

><p><strong>I had to look up that last quote because I realized I had heard it somewhere. It's from <strong>**_A Walk to Remember._**** It's so perfect, and it just came to me out of nowhere. **

**The poem is titled "A Glimpse" by Walt Whitman.**

**Next Time: Roxas and Axel haven't spoken for a month. What gives?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Title: Seeking Promise**

**Rating: M**

**Pairings: Riku/Sora, Roxas/Axel, brief Sora/Kairi **

**Disclaimer: I got 99 problems, and owning Kingdom Hearts ain't one.**

**Author's notes: I've gotten over 1,000 views (for this story as a whole), and I'd like to thank smurfette6 for adding her lovely review. Thanks also AiMila and sullykaystar for coming back. I never imagined my writing would have any effect on anyone. I just wanted to write the characters the way I saw them. I haven't had the best luck lately, but it's so nice to come here and feel supported. I can't thank you guys enough.**

**So I will tell you a little story about my love for Kingdom Hearts (feel free to scroll over it):**

**I got my two favorite games at the mall near where I live at the same time, in a GameStop. I had no idea what KH was, or the FF series. I only knew KH from the ads being spammed on the Disney Channel and just assumed it was another crummy thing they were trying to push kids to buy. Boy, was I wrong. My half-brother bought me FFX and KH after they'd already been out for a while (couple years I guess?). Now, I am so grateful that he did.**

**That's not the meat of my story though. The next part is how my love of KH deepened in a way I never expected it to (besides finding out I liked yaoi).**

**Six years ago I was head over heels for a guy and he knew I loved KH. So for Christmas he bought me 358/2 Days. I didn't think much of it until he broke up with me and long story short, he turned out to be an asshole.**

**When I really love someone, I take that shit seriously. So, I became a shut-in for a while. I didn't talk or eat much. I mostly slept so I wouldn't feel much of anything. **

**But I did do one thing that made me happy.**

**I played 358/2 Days because it was the only thing that made me feel like anything. It was the last gift he ever gave me and it reminded me so much of the good memories I had with him. He was just like Roxas, and I was Xion. I cried so hard at the end, and I still cry whenever I see them again; especially Xion. Xion's disappearance from memory and her lack of identity are what made her really relatable to me. Lol, when Sora fought Roxas in the new coded cutscene I absolutely lost it. **

**The good part is I've found someone else to love since then, and I'm very happy now. But, I still think it's a beautiful sadness that will live in my heart forever. I think having those kinds of memories reminds us of how we've grown.**

**Think you can top my story? Tell me how you fell in love with KH. Hopefully your story is happier than mine. **

* * *

><p>It had been a month since their date, and Axel was a man of his word. He had not tried to approach Roxas or look at him since. But, that didn't stop him from thinking about it every day.<p>

He twirled his fork around, giving his mashed potatoes a peak. _Aw, it looks just like his hair. _Axel squinted at his food. _Well, sorta._

Riku sighed and laid his own fork down. It was the first day in years he'd declined to sit with a female companion. He had _hoped _Axel might cheer him up. Unfortunately, it looked like it would have to be the other way around.

"You know, depression doesn't look good on you…Doesn't look good on him either," Riku referred to the dejected blonde sitting on the other side of the room.

Roxas had stopped reading. Instead, he had taken up drawing in a sketchbook. Looking glum wasn't out of the ordinary for him, but these days he was quite visibly frustrated and struggling with something in his sketchpad.

"I mean, if you even call that depression," Riku raised an eyebrow. He couldn't imagine Roxas in a happy mood, so he didn't know what kind of emotion to place him in at the present moment.

Axel shrugged.

"You ever think about settling into a real relationship?" Axel wondered aloud.

Riku scoffed, "Not really. "

"Not a single girl you'd date?"

He leaned back in his chair and let his hair curtain his eyes, "Nope."

"No one at all?"

Riku looked away , "What's got you so interested anyway? I thought we were on the same page. You said you'd bang that kid in a month and you haven't yet. What gives?"

Axel shrugged again, pretending to be nonchalant, "I'm not gonna force myself on the kid."

"Whatever floats your boat," Riku quipped.

* * *

><p>The way Sora showered Kairi with affection worried her more than when he showed her none at all. But, she had to admit the extra attention made her feel good. He wrapped an arm around her lazily as they ate.<p>

"Whatcha drawin Roxas?" Sora smiled and craned his head to get a peek.

Roxas blushed a little and brushed his hand over the paper, "It's just some graffiti I saw. I wanted to capture it on paper before I forgot."

Tidus and Sora exchanged a look.

"What happened to Axel? You guys went on a date like, a while ago," Tidus wrinkled his nose a little at the thought of his new friend possibly being gay. He could get used to that part, but honestly he worried for Roxas. Axel didn't have the best reputation, and so it was more than possible he would break Roxas if they started dating. Roxas looked like the kind of person who would take the relationship seriously. Axel didn't.

Roxas shrugged, "I dunno. Haven't heard from him since." He zoned out while the others changed the subject to something more cheerful.

"Did you guys wanna double date tonight?" Selphie gnawed on her chicken drumstick much like a rabid dog eats a rabbit.

Sora grimaced, "Sorry Selph, we kinda made plans to hang out at my house tonight."

Kairi raised a suspicious eyebrow, "We did?"

"Of course!" Sora kissed Kairi softly and grinned. "I want to spend time with you."

Kairi smiled and blushed. She leaned on Sora's shoulder.

"It's about time you cozied up, yeah?" Wakka was passing by and decided to sit down with the group.

"Heeeeey Wakka!" Tidus grinned and high-fived Wakka with clasped hands.

"Suuup maan!" Wakka returned the grin.

"How's Lulu?"

"Good good, but we got some big news yeah?"

"What's that?" Tidus fully expected his next response.

"I asked her out man! And she said yes!"

Kairi and Selphie squealed happily, "Congratulations!"

"Yeah, thanks!"

Sora droned out the conversation long enough to steal a side glance at the other table. Riku ate silently and stared off at nothing in particular. As soon as Sora saw him turn to look back at him, he looked down at his plate, but shrunk at feeling a glare in his peripheral.

* * *

><p><em>Kairi didn't know what to say as her best friend confided his story to her. At times, it looked as though he might cry and she pitied him.<em>

_"But why didn't you just tell him the truth Sora?"_

_Her friend only shook his head slowly, "I was too late. Now I never will."_

_"But that's just silly. If you don't tell him how you feel, you'll always wonder what could have been."_

_"But if I did that Kairi, I would ruin what little chance of friendship we have left. I just can't."_

_Kairi held Sora in her arms and he trembled slightly. Out of all the people he could have chosen to love, he picked the most stubborn and selfish bastard possible._

_"But he's such an asshole," Kairi voiced._

_Sora shrugged out of her grasp and wiped the corners of his eyes, "You don't know him like I do."_

* * *

><p>"Sora?" Kairi rubbed his hand and looked up at him. Concern laced her lavender eyes and he tried to reassure her with his own.<p>

"Yeah, sorry. I zoned out," Sora laughed and scratched the back of his head.

But the memory of Sora's confession persisted in Kairi's restless mind.

* * *

><p>Axel climbed up to the water tower that evening to watch the sunset as he'd been doing every evening since he took Roxas there. Sometimes he took his homework up and worked on it while the sun was still out. Today, he just stared off into the horizon blankly.<p>

_What is it about Roxas that has me flustered all the time? I tried to take him out and I fucked it all up. _He glanced over at the gaping hole that was once part of the walkway. _Why is it still bothering me when I know he doesn't care?_

Axel held the railing firmly and slid out the bottom. He did a couple of pull ups, and then hung there in silence for a while. He knew he was strong enough to pull himself up, but what if he just let go? He considered the thought of flying to his epic death before shaking his head. That would be far too depressing for his taste. He would rather die in some awesome freak accident, preferably with pyrotechnics involved.

"Axel, what are you doing!" Axel was pulling himself up when he caught a glimpse of blonde shooting up the ladder two steps at a time.

"Pull ups," He sat down on the ledge again before Roxas reached the top.

He had to admit, Roxas had the most adorable worry face he had ever seen on another male.

"You could have died! What the hell is wrong with you?" Roxas gasped between breaths. Running up the ladder made his cheeks red. Axel watched, amused as the other boy collapsed with his back against the water tower, panting.

Axel shrugged, "It's okay Roxas, I was just messing around."

"Well next time try not to do it a hundred feet in the air?"

Axel nodded, but felt increasingly distracted by Roxas' ruddy cheeks and panting. He tried to change the subject to keep himself from molesting him right then,

"What's that?" He pointed to the sketchbook lying beside Roxas.

"Oh that?" Roxas turned redder, if that was at all possible.

"I brought it up to make some sketches of the water tower."

"Really? Can I see?" Axel scooted next to him and took the pad in his lap.

Roxas nodded a timid approval.

Axel gingerly opened the cover and looked over the images carefully. Roxas eyed his long fingers resting over the pages.

"These are…"

"Your graffiti, yeah…I really liked them," Roxas hung his head. Having to admit to obsessing over Axel's art for the past month was embarrassing at best.

The art in Roxas' sketchbook not only mimicked Axel's graffiti, but there were some places where Roxas added to them or drew some of his own. Axel grinned slowly,

"These are really good…"

"Thanks but the ones up here were a lot better," Roxas began.

"No really, you should come up and paint with me sometime." Axel remembered their deal and paused, "I mean, if you wanted to…"

Roxas smiled fondly, "Yeah, I'd like that."

Axel finished looking over the pages and closed the book, handing it back to Roxas. Roxas set it aside and watched the sunset quietly.

"Roxas?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about what happened last time I brought you up here," Axel murmured.

A few beats of silence passed between the two. Axel felt Roxas tremble beside him. _Oh shit, what did I do now?_

"Roxas?"

Roxas appeared to be anxious about something. He shuffled his feet together in a shy way. Then, he asked something that sent a shockwave through Axel,

"Do you still think I'm cute?"

He had to take a moment and blink a few extra times to see if this was actually happening. He debated slapping himself, but Roxas was biting his lip and waiting for an answer. Apparently this wasn't one of those wet dreams he'd been having.

"I guess so…why do you ask?" Axel drawled.

Roxas squeezed his eyes shut tightly, as if Axel had a gun to his head and could fire in a moment's notice.

"I was wondering if we could maybe, hang out more?"

Axel chuckled, "And you're asking for _my_ permission? Really Rox, you're too adorable."

"But I'm a guy! I'm not supposed to be 'cute'," Roxas grumbled.

Axel gripped Roxas' shoulders, who winced a little when his nails dug in,

"It doesn't matter whether you're a boy or a girl."

Roxas looked up at him. Although some time had passed, he found himself struggling to breathe again.

"I'd still feel the same way about you as I do now," Axel continued.

"And if that scares you, that's fine but I need to know," He rested a slender hand on Roxas' jawline and kissed him.

It started out soft and sweet, but as Axel was pulling away Roxas' hand shot out to grab his hair and pulled him close. His lips latched on hungrily and Axel reacted quickly, placing his hands on either side of Roxas' face. He gently eased his tongue in and Roxas met him eagerly.

His face felt hot, his pants grew tight, and Axel just couldn't tear himself away from his beautiful prize. He couldn't help taking advantage of even the possibility that Roxas was exploring his feelings.

He felt Roxas' soft moan echo in his mouth and eased him on his back to continue kissing him. Roxas groped at the muscles in his arms and flailed around until his hand laced with Axel's. They nipped and latched onto exposed body parts. Each time Roxas made a noise Axel pulsed with renewed desire.

They didn't stop until Roxas rolled away and gasped for air. Their faces were blotchy and their necks were covered in hickeys.

Axel sat up and looked at the horizon for the first time since they started kissing. The sun had gone down long ago, leaving them with a blanket of constellations instead. Roxas looked upwards and tried to point out the ones he knew of.

Axel laid back down beside him and listened quietly. Roxas seemed to know a lot of things. He wondered how stupid he seemed in comparison, and why in the world Roxas would take a liking to him at all.

He never felt so aroused in kissing someone before, and he'd cut a wide swath through both genders at school. He seriously worried he'd be a one-shot in bed and he never was before. It wasn't just attractiveness or a likable personality this time. Roxas had both of those qualities, but there was something else that drew Axel to him like a magnet. It never mattered what, if anything, Roxas said; whenever he was around Axel's heart pumped faster and he needed to be near him.

"Ready to go home?"

Axel groaned the prospect of having to leave Roxas alone again, "Yeah."

He walked Roxas home, making a few pit stops along the way.

Axel put his hands in his pockets and tried to remember what Roxas told him about the constellations. He looked up. There were just so many stars and the few constellations people made out of them were attached to love stories and Greek fairy tales.

But he didn't believe in those things. He was convinced that he wasn't capable of love,

but did he love Roxas?

The thought made him stop in his tracks.

* * *

><p>Kairi felt so small in Sora's room. Before, she felt like Sora's big sister; someone he could run to when he was scared or upset. Now things felt like badly scripted incest porn, and they both tried to ignore it as they fumbled through their clothes.<p>

She blushed at Sora's naked body, but there was one glaring problem that _should've _been staring her in the face.

She rubbed against him and moaned when he touched her breasts. She stroked him and even tried to push him inside as he was, but nothing worked. Their attempt at sex had turned into an hour of pure torture for both of them. Sora sat up and held his head in his hands, "Maybe I'm just nervous."

Kairi knew better as she buttoned her shirt back up and pulled her jeans over her hips, "No you're not."

"Then what am I doing wrong?"

She sat down beside Sora and rubbed his back, "You don't love me."

Sora gaped, "Of course I do Kairi! That's not it!"

"We need to stop fooling ourselves into thinking we love each other that way Sora," Kairi sighed.

"You don't love me?" His face fell.

"Not the way I thought I did, and maybe you don't realize it yet but you don't love me that way either," Kairi said.

She didn't mean to, but she could feel tears running hot down her face. When she finally turned to face Sora, she realized that he was crying too.

"Oh, honeybear," She pulled him into a hug and they cried together.

"I'm sorry," Sora managed between sobs, "I'm so sorry Kairi."

Kairi squeezed him tightly. She remembered how much she wanted Sora and how much it hurt before to hear him talk about Riku. Now that she finally had him, she realized it wasn't anything like what she'd imagined it would be. She was only confusing him and causing him pain. She had to let him go.

"Me too."

* * *

><p><strong>This was a hard chapter to write for me. I had to read over it a few times and move whole segments around to make it flow more smoothly. I still feel like things are rather abrupt or rushed (especially the last scene), but I really don't know how to fix it at this point. Oh well.<strong>

**So, after writing my author's note I took my lappy to my friends' house to work on the fanfic while they played games. Lo and behold, guess who I ended up having to hang out with all night? That's right. The crap I had just written about was sitting there looking me dead in the face. I'm tellin you, my luck/fate has been hitting me with freight train after freight train of shitty surprises. Love it.**

**Next Time: Rumors are spread and someone has a meltdown.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Title: Seeking Promise**

**Rating: M**

**Pairings: Riku/Sora, Roxas/Axel, brief Sora/Kairi **

**Disclaimer: This is the place where I'd put the release date for KH3 if I owned Kingdom Hearts. **

**Author's notes: When you get excited to read, I get more excited to write. As always, thank you so much for reading! Thanks for the reviews from newcomers ameranthus13 and Ern Estine 13624, as well as my veteran readers/reviewers AiMila, sullykaystar, and smurfette6. You all make me smile :)**

**I normally would have worked on this sooner, since I've been alternating between gaming and writing, but Terra/lingering will in 2.5 wouldn't let me. He's very rude and demanding. I'm at lvl 99 and I'm like wth is this, I can't even touch him!? It was ridiculous and I tried to do the cheaty type thing they have on YouTube where you spam him with jump/finisher, but I guess my timing just sucks because even with the right abilities equipped he retaliated every. single. time. So, I spammed comet and final form and didn't win until I let my party use potions on me and I used ethers. I normally don't do that because Goofy says AH YUK, IMMA USE ALL YOUR POTIONS *scumbag hat meme*. Long story short, I beat him. Now I can calm my tits and write.**

**During this chapter Riku listens to his iPod on his walk home. The lyrics are no longer in the chapter, but the song was called "By the Way" by Love and Death in case you were interested. I do not own/profit from the song.**

* * *

><p>That morning, Sora woke up to the familiar smell of strawberries. He groggily opened his eyes and instead of the usual open window, he was met with the soft blur of red in front of his face.<p>

It was then that he remembered falling asleep with Kairi. They were both so exhausted from crying, they fell asleep together in Sora's bed. He slid his arms from around her waist and slowly got up so he wouldn't disturb her. When she shivered, he pulled the covers over her shoulders and kissed her forehead.

Sora looked at himself in the bathroom mirror and frowned. _Why? It feels good to wake up next to her, but I can't sleep with her. I love being around her, but I can't kiss her. What's wrong with me? _His skin was taut from dried tears so he washed his face quickly.

"Sora?" Aerith peered around the corner with spatula in hand. She looked as though she might beat him with it.

"Hey mom," Sora buried his face in a towel to dry off.

She crossed her arms, "Why is there a girl sleeping in your bedroom?"

He paused, "Oh, that." His mother was so perceptive, but she also knew Sora didn't hide secrets from her. She softened when she saw his mixed expression.

"We fell asleep mom. Sorry, it was an accident," he trailed off and stared at himself in the mirror.

Aerith crouched down and ruffled his spikes, "What's wrong honey?"

"Nothing, I'm fine," Sora squeezed a dollop of toothpaste on his brush. He practically threw the paste back down on the counter.

"I think I would know when something's going on with my son," Aerith chuckled. "I know you don't like brushing your teeth but that's just ridiculous."

He sighed and wet his brush, "No offense mom, but I'm not exactly comfortable talking about being intimate with my girlfriend, who is assumedly no longer my girlfriend."

Aerith frowned, "I kinda had a feeling it was something like that. Have you ever thought that maybe you like someone else?"

Sora shook his head but he felt his heart start pounding, "It's always been Kairi."

"Well son, I don't know what to say. If you can't get all hot and bothered over a girl, maybe you should consider playing for another team."

Sora blanched and pushed Aerith out the door, who began giggling uncontrollably, "Mooom! I'm so done talking about this!"

Aerith shook her head and shrugged knowingly, "I might not get grand-kids after all."

Kairi was sitting in Sora's moon chair when he came back, "Hey bedhead." She smiled, referring to the mess that was Sora's head. He smiled and ran a comb through his spikes. Despite his weird hair contortions, Sora never had to use gel and he didn't have to brush it much. The only time it went flat was in the shower, and even then it didn't last very long. He just assumed this was the permanent structure of his head.

"You ready to go?"

Sora shrugged and followed her down the stairs.

* * *

><p>On the walk to school, Kairi looked happy as could be, but Sora was a different story. He didn't know what they were at this point and debated having to hold her hand.<p>

He decided the best way to know was to ask, "Are we gonna talk about what happened Kairi?"

She shook her head slowly, "Nah, I just want to go back to being friends like before. It's kinda strange isn't it? I feel as though nothing ever happened between us. I always wanted to know what it was like, but this just feels more natural."

Sora laughed and brightened, "You know, I feel the same way."

Kairi skipped ahead of him to greet Tidus and Selphie at the fountain. He raised an eyebrow. Tidus and Selphie were always together since the dance. He wondered if they were dating.

"Sora? Come over here, you should hear this," Tidus anxiously looked around before motioning Sora over.

As he drew closer, he noted the worried expressions on his friends' faces,

and the curious stares of everyone else in the courtyard.

Sora wrinkled his nose, "That's kinda creepy."

Tidus draped an arm over his shoulder and guided him away from the growing crowd.

"What's going on?" Sora grew increasingly suspicious.

"Sora, how should I tell you this.."

"You move your mouth and words come out?"

Tidus punched his arm playfully, "Shuddup."

"Sora, there's a rumor going around that you're gay."

"What?" Sora gaped.

"You're kidding right?"

Tidus shook his head.

Sora felt his stomach fall out and balled his fists. Kairi was the only one who knew, and he knew she wouldn't have told anyone. Besides that, he had stopped liking Riku a long time ago when he realized his feelings were never returned. That was the only guy he'd ever been even remotely attracted to, so that didn't make him gay.

There was only one person he could think of that would go low enough to spread a lie like that.

_Son of a bitch._

"He'd better hope I don't see his sorry _face_ today!" Sora stormed through the jeering crowds to class, shouldering anyone who got in the way.

Kairi's eyes shined with tears, "I've never seen him that mad before."

"Kinda scary, yeah?" Wakka added.

"Yeah," the group readily agreed.

* * *

><p>Roxas no longer had to worry about Axel's staring or interruptions. He had a very different problem on his hands and almost wished he could go back to the days when gawking was his only problem.<p>

Axel pinned him up against his locker.

_Almost._

Roxas squirmed between his arms, "Axel, people are staring."

Axel leaned down and latched onto his neck, "Let them."

To Axel's delight, the blonde had to cover his mouth to keep from moaning. He wrapped his arms around Roxas' waist and kissed him.

"Can't we at least…do this somewhere else?" Roxas gasped out between kisses.

Axel reluctantly pulled away and looked around desperately for an escape. "I hope you like cramped spaces," he smirked.

They laced fingers and found an old broom closet Axel remembered using once before. He turned the handle and raised an eyebrow when it didn't come loose.

"What the- this door doesn't even have a lock." Axel jiggled the handle a bit more.

With effort, the door finally swung open and Axel laughed so hard he had to clutch his sides.

Leon sped out the door, leaving a very disheveled and hickied up Cloud in his wake. Cloud looked up and his blue eyes met Roxas' in an unspoken understanding. Both blondes turned red and the older of the two pulled his shirt back down and buckled his belt before slipping back out into the crowded hallway.

"Okay, I was _not _expecting that," Axel stopped laughing long enough to watch Roxas' reaction.

"Why? I thought you were friends?"

"Yeah I guess, but he never mentioned being with Mr. Leonhart," Axel grinned.

Roxas stared at the closet in disbelief. So that was who the rumors were about. It made more sense now that he saw it for himself.

"What are you standing around for? We've only got ten minutes in heaven," Axel pushed him into the closet and shut the door behind them.

* * *

><p>That evening, Riku started the walk home with his hands in his pockets and listening to his iPod. He had heard the strange rumor and assuming he was involved somehow, had spent the day avoiding people.<p>

He wondered if Sora was the one telling people he was gay. If so, why? At first he thought he'd be called gay too, that maybe Sora told everyone about their childhood. But, that was not the case. Perhaps Sora had found a boyfriend.

He looked up at the darkening sky. It looked as though it might storm soon.

_"Do you love me Riku?"_

Riku's chest tightened and he turned off his iPod.

"More than anything," he mumbled to himself.

That was when he felt something hard hit him in the back of the head. He turned around to see it was a book. Sora was at the other end of it.

"What the hell is _wrong_ with you!" Sora drawled.

He knew knowledge was power and all, but he didn't need Sora beating it into him with a book. He glared down at the smaller boy, who looked as though he might explode with all the fury of a thousand suns.

"Excuse me?"

"You told the whole _fucking _school I'm gay!" Forget the suns, Sora was on a whole new level of anger he wasn't familiar with.

"Wha- You think I did that?" He felt his own anger rising.

"OF COURSE YOU WOULD," Sora spat.

Riku was lost for words. He knew he'd been cruel, but he'd never do this.

"What's your problem, huh? You wanna ruin my relationship with Kairi? FINE! WISH GRANTED! But I will not sit around and let you tell people _that_!"

"Sora, I never-"

"LIAR!"

Sora started throwing punches at Riku, who dodged most of them. He grabbed Sora's wrists to stop him from striking. Sora wiggled viciously in his grasp and began to kick and scream.

"What the hell.."

"How could you? How could you do this to me? I hate you!"

Riku let go of his wrists out of shock. He tried to hide the pained expression on his face, but couldn't. The damage was done.

Sora reeled back at his own words; Riku noticed his eyes were red and puffy. He'd been crying. A lot.

"Why won't you stop Riku? Why can't you just leave me alone?"

Riku took a few steps back, "I- I don't know."

The brunette turned and ran away in the opposite direction. Riku thought nothing of it until he realized the direction he left in was not the same direction his house was in. The clouds rumbled over their heads.

"Shit," it suddenly dawned on him where Sora was headed.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the brevity, but I wanted to save the next part for another chapter. Cloud's hot for teacher! Who knew?<strong>

**Next Time: Is Sora still scared of storms? Sora goes to the island.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Title: Seeking Promise**

**Rating: M**

**Pairings: Riku/Sora, Roxas/Axel, brief Sora/Kairi **

**Disclaimer: Do I look like a sorcerer to you? Didn't think so.**

**Author's notes: Thank you for your continued support! Please feel free to review or PM me with ideas or whatever. I enjoy feedback, it makes me feel all important and stuff. I also just like chatting since I know you guys are probably just as disturbed and obsessed as I am. And don't think I can't see who favorites and follows this thing. I see you sneaky lil devils. Thanks so much :D**

**During this chapter Sora listens to Riku's iPod. The lyrics are no longer in the chapter, but the song was called "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been" by Relient K in case you were interested. I do not own/profit from the song.**

* * *

><p>Sora didn't give any thought at all to where his feet took him. All he cared about was getting far away from Riku and everyone else. He was tired of trying to make people happy, he was tired of these strange feelings with Riku, and as he jumped in his rowboat and rowed to the small island, he realized he was just plain tired.<p>

_"I just know that's what people do when they love each other."_

_"__Sora! Sora! Where are you?"_

_"__Promise me we'll still come out here. We'll still be friends."_

_"__Close your eyes."_

Sora had run all the way up to the crooked paopu tree and curled up in a ball against it, clutching at his head as if to keep it from falling apart.

"Shut up!" He screamed.

Sora stammered between broken sobs, "Get out of my head."

Above him, the sky roared with a warning that Sora completely ignored in his despair. It wasn't until the sky opened up to him in sheets that he even knew it was storming.

He stood up in a panic and suddenly his former dilemma seemed far away. He had to get out of the storm. He had to get away from-

_RUMBLE_

Sora shrieked and lurched forward in an attempt to run towards the cave.

But his foot got caught up in an unassuming branch and Sora grappled at the air as he felt himself falling towards the open water below.

_It's over. It's all over._

He didn't have the chance to gasp before he went under, and he could feel his body fumble in the tide. There was a dull, wooshing roar in his ears and his limbs flailed around in vain. He wasn't strong enough to fight the tides.

_Mom and Kairi were right. It's always been him. I've always loved him. I love him so much it hurts to breathe._

The crushing pain from a lack of air lay heavy on his chest.

_This isn't so bad. I already know what this feels like._

Sora gave up fighting the waves and his world went black.

* * *

><p>"You're such an idiot," Riku mumbled as he rowed his way over the rising tides.<p>

The sky looked all too familiar to be of any comfort to Riku. He docked his boat and saw that Sora's was already there. _I thought so._

He sighed and jogged along the shore to look for Sora. _Why would you come here now, of all times? You're scared of thunder. _When he didn't spot Sora immediately, he considered checking the cave. _If he had any sense at all, he'd go there. _

Just as he started for the cave, it downpoured and through the screen of water he could barely make out a form dropping from the small island into the ocean.

"Sora?"

Riku ran along the shoreline until he found what he'd hoped he wouldn't.

"Sora!" He trudged through the water and fought the harsh waves until he reached Sora's unconscious body. Using all the arm and leg strength he could muster, Riku flailed around under the water until he could find some traction and carried Sora to the shore.

Not willing to waste any time, Riku carried him to the cave and started CPR.

_I've only ever read about CPR. Please work. Please please please._

"Sora, come on. Stay with me," Riku continued until he sensed signs of life from Sora.

"Sora! Wake up!"

Sora sputtered and coughed up water. His eyes snapped open.

Riku breathed a sigh of relief and patted Sora on the back to help him expel any water left in his lungs.

"Riku?" He looked surprised to see him.

"Yeah," Another rumble of thunder made Sora jump.

"Why did you come?"

He looked down at Sora, still relieved he was even breathing.

"Because I-"

_love you._

"I saw you leave and it was about to storm," Riku finished.

"But why did you save me?" Sora searched him for answers, and Riku was suspicious he wasn't just referring to the storm.

"Well I wasn't about to let you die."

When Sora yelped at the next round of thunder, Riku grasped his forearm and led him to the back of the cave. He crossed his arms and sat down nearby.

Even after being distanced from the cave's mouth, Sora continued shaking and cringing whenever there was a crackle of lightning. He just seemed so, defenseless. Riku frowned. This was his fault and if he didn't come when he did…The thought alone sent a shiver down his spine. It scared the hell out of him.

It was chilly in the cave, especially since they were both soaked from the rain. Riku took off his shirt and wrung it out.

The brunette visibly fidgeted, "What are you doing?"

He took off his socks and shoes next, "I'm cold and my clothes are wet."

"Oh…" Sora followed suit and took off his own clothes. They were left in only their boxers.

"You're right, that does feel better…"

Riku nodded and watched the cascading rain.

"Riku?"

"Yeah?" He glanced over at Sora and instantly regretted it. He had grown a lot since they were little. His form was still feminine, but now he was toned and his body glistened from the rain.

"Did you do it?"

Riku took a moment to register what the question referred to, and then shook his head, "No… I didn't."

"Then, who did?"

He bit his lip thoughtfully, "Don't know. Someone I know maybe."

_I should probably make better friends._

Riku couldn't remember the last time he tried to have real friends. In fact, besides Axel and Cloud, Sora was probably the only real friend he ever had.

The next round of thunder was particularly loud and Sora clamped his eyes shut.

"Here," Riku's face was in front of his when he opened his eyes. He pushed his earbuds into Sora's ears and handed him his iPod.

"You won't hear the storm."

Sora smiled slowly and cycled through the songs until he found something he recognized, "Thanks."

Riku nodded and leaned against the wall next to him.

It wasn't long until Sora fell asleep and rested his head on Riku's shoulder. Needless to say, he didn't mind.

"Riku…-iku…" Sora mumbled in his sleep.

Riku smiled, "I'm here."

* * *

><p>Oddly enough, Sora awoke warm in his bed later that night. His Mickey Mouse alarm clock ticked quietly on his nightstand and he peered over to see it was eight o'clock. He could swear he was just sitting in a cave with Riku, but now as he sat up in bed he wondered if he'd dreamt the whole thing.<p>

And if it wasn't for the wet clothes draped over his chair, he would've easily written this off as a semi-dream-night-terror thing.

Sora padded his way down the stairs to find Aerith sitting at the table in her pajamas. Her hands were shaky and she was smoking, something she rarely ever did.

She turned to face him and cupped a hand to her mouth. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Oh my God, Sora," Aerith pulled him into a tight hug; so tight, Sora was convinced she was being possessed by Wakka.

He couldn't help chuckling at her overreaction, "Mom, I'm fine. Now would you mind telling me what's going on?"

His mother pinched at his cheeks and checked all his vitals, acting as if he'd been in a coma for the last six years. She gestured for him to take the seat beside her before putting on her mom face.

Sora hated the mom face. It meant he was in for one hell of a lecture.

"Maybe _you _should tell _me_ why you felt like jumping into the ocean in the middle of a storm?"

He struggled to remember the events of the early evening. So he really wasn't dreaming; He'd fought with Riku, then rowed out to the island, tripped, and woke up in a cave with none other than Riku? Sora shook his head. No way.

"I didn't jump mom, I fell."

Aerith rolled her eyes, "Whatever it was, you shouldn't have been at the island in the middle of a storm Sora! You could have died! You _know_ better! And if Riku hadn't saved you-"

"Riku?" Sora interjected. _'Saved' me?_

"_I hate you!" _Guilt pooled in his gut when he remembered their encounter after school. So he'd made a mistake in accusing Riku, but he'd been so cruel to Sora and it hurt so much over the years that Sora jumped to the conclusion that seemed obvious to him.

"Yes," Aerith replied impatiently and continued, "If Riku hadn't saved you, you would have drowned. For God's sakes Sora, how many times have I told you not to do that! Didn't you learn from the last time?"

"Last time?" Sora's head rolled in jumbled up memories.

"Yes, last time. You boys were only six and seven and somehow managed to row out to the island _by yourselves _during a storm. Ring any bells?" She flicked his forehead.

He stared at her vacantly.

"I enjoy your syrupy innocence, but really Sora, I was hoping you were no longer capable of making such dumb decisions."

Sora grinned at her sheepishly, "Sorry mom. I guess I was just stressed or something."

Unfortunately, Aerith was intuitive enough to catch on to this last statement.

"Over what Sora? Your dad works far away and all, but you know you can talk to me about it. What's going on with you these days? You're not eating, you don't sleep well, you broke up with Kairi..." She brushed the stray hair from his face and grimaced.

"You used to tell me these kinds of things."

_Oh Lord, pack your bags; we're going on a guilt trip. _

Sora smiled softly, "I know. It's just kinda complicated."

Aerith rolled her eyes, "Sora, complicated for you is remembering how to put on a tie. I think I can handle it."

He bit his lips and looked away. Something still didn't make any sense to him.

"How did I get home?"

"Oh," Aerith looked as though this should have been obvious to him. "Riku carried you home."

The spreading blush on her son's face was all she needed to confirm her suspicions.

"He was quite the gentleman too; wouldn't leave until he knew you were okay. I haven't seen him since you two were boys, but he's really grown quite handsome Sora. I even considered giving him my cookies before he left," Aerith giggled.

"But mom, you didn't make any-"his face paled.

"Aw, gross mom!"

She laughed, "So, you like him again? I don't blame you, you know."

"He's an ass," Sora grumbled. "And what do you mean 'again'?"

Aerith picked up her mug of coffee, which had been sitting untouched until then. She took a long sip.

"Oh it was obvious even as boys you were smitten. It was quite cute really, but your father didn't like it very much," she laughed. "He always said you were 'going through a phase' and that you would 'grow out of it'," she used air quotes. "But I knew better. We couldn't pry you apart for a second, and believe me, we tried."

Sora was convinced his mother had lost her mind. He huffed, "Why would I like someone who hires people to shove my head in toilets?"

She raised an eyebrow, "He did what now?"

_Oops. Too late now._ Sora sighed, "He hasn't been the nicest person in the world lately." _And that's putting it lightly._

"Oh Sora…," Aerith struggled between her mothering skills and her relationship know-how.

It was obvious to her what was going on, but she certainly didn't approve of Sora associating himself with a bully. It made her want to kick Riku's ass down the street in a trash can. At the same time, the situation could easily be rectified and she had the instinctive feeling that Sora wouldn't be happy with anyone else. There was only one thing to be done, but she didn't like it one bit.

"Did it happen while you were dating Kairi?"

Sora nodded, "Yeah, why?"

She took another sip of coffee, "Sounds like he's jealous Sora."

Sora tilted his head, "Jealous? Why would he be jealous?" He tried to imagine why Riku would be jealous of anything Sora had and came up with nothing. He was far more popular, romantically successful, and intelligent to boot. The most Sora had going for him was Flapjack Saturday.

"Think about it, honey. Did he stop picking on you after you and Kairi stopped dating?"

"Yeah," he raised a suspicious eyebrow, still completely oblivious. "How'd you know?"

"My poor, dense young son," she rubbed her temples slowly.

"Sora, there's a reason he went through the trouble of taking care of you today, and might I add it was particularly difficult prying you off him long enough to put you to bed," she finished off her coffee. _To imagine, my kid is in love and he doesn't even know it. I wish I'd been as lucky._

Sora winced, "Really?" The embarrassment was unbearable and he wanted to crawl under a rock.

"Son, you have a death grip when you sleep, and you tend to talk a lot," she got up and put out her cigarette, releasing Sora from his prison of lecture.

Her casualty buried his head in his arms and groaned. It was all too much for his young brain to handle at once.

"And Sora?" He peered over his arm at her cautiously.

She shot him one last glare before leaving the room, "I understand you having your little soap opera special with Riku, but don't do that ever again or you'll be _wishing _you'd drowned."

Sora gulped and nodded slowly. Women were scary creatures.

* * *

><p>The next few days weren't much better, but they were no worse either. Just as Aerith predicted, Riku didn't bother him anymore. In fact, he looked like a different person altogether. He still smirked, girls still swooned and threw themselves at him, but he no longer exhibited vagrant PDA at school. Sora also felt more comfortable to enter the cafeteria without getting mashed potatoes smashed into his nose.<p>

Kairi went back to being Sora's best friend, relieving the table of having to pretend they would work out. No one took it very hard. Even Selphie stopped yelling at Sora when Kairi gently explained how she was happy about the outcome.

Everything was relatively normal, aside from Roxas' and Axel's lengthy disappearances. Not-so-surprisingly, they always went missing at the same time and Roxas looked disoriented whenever his friends saw him. He also took a new liking to turtlenecks, despite the tropical weather outside.

So when Kairi proposed a party at her house for the weekend, everyone was excited for a change of pace. Selphie threw a lot of parties too, but the few parties Kairi threw were ragers due to the sheer space of her house. It was a colossal villa with many guest rooms, fully loaded with a pool, hot tub, expensive stereo and gaming systems. No matter how hard she tried to hide invitations, somehow the whole school showed up anyway.

Sora knew how incredibly lonely Kairi was when her parents were away on business, which was fairly often. He could relate since his own dad went away a lot too. So, he always stuck around after the parties to help clean up, which was usually more fun to him than the party itself.

"So, you guys want your usual chores?" Kairi asked.

Everyone nodded. Sora had clean-up, Selphie would be in charge of games and music, and Tidus always protected her breakables.

"Roxas, your job is to protect your virtue," she laughed at the heavy blush this generated.

This was the first day he'd joined them for lunch since he started dating Axel.

"Yeah right, that's already a distant dream," Tidus scoffed.

Roxas' eyes narrowed, "That's none of your business."

To this, Tidus rolled his eyes and chuckled. He was worried about his friend, but he wasn't about to start a fight over it. He decided to let it go.

"So what's the plan Selphie?"

Selphie grinned, "I think we'll just do a few rounds of 'hide and kiss' and leave the rest to fate. The party's so big after all and someone's bound to bring alcohol."

Sora made a mental note not to actively look for anyone during the party.

"When's it start?"

"The usual, six p.m.," Kairi replied.

She beamed, "Bring your dancing shoes, boys."

* * *

><p><strong>The weather of Destiny Islands is kind of lost on me. I live in the Eastern U.S., so we have actual <strong>**_seasons_**** and whatnot. So, I have no idea how tropical weather really works. I just imagine a lot of heat and storms throughout the year; maybe a couple chilly days here and there.**

**I'm probably wrong, as usual.**

**It's strange having Aerith smoke, but kids are stressful and all that.**

**Next Time: Kairi needs to clean her pool.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Title: Seeking Promise**

**Rating: M**

**Pairings: Riku/Sora, Roxas/Axel, brief Sora/Kairi **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts, I wouldn't be out on the streets handing out my resumes like candy. If I owned anything, I wouldn't be such a Nazi about letting people use my content in a responsible fashion. We all know I never win such battles against the government.**

**IMPORTANT****: Things are going to get a little racy in this chapter. Although this is an M-rated fiction and many other writers on the site do it, the site prohibits explicit content no matter what the rating. Since that is the case, from here on out I will cut any and all lemons and tell you how to find the full reading where the lemon ****_would _****have been. You will find the same chapter on the adult FF website, where everything will be the same except for the addition of sexual content. You MUST be at least eighteen years of age to access the website. I am not responsible in the case that you lie about your age and get skinned by your parents for reading gay porn. I warned you.**

**I feel that this is the best way to post the content, but again, if I am in violation of any rules PLEASE let me know so that I may make the necessary changes. **

**And as always, thanks so much for readers/reviews/favorites/follows! I've reached over 2,000 views thanks to you!**

**DO NOT do this unless you are 18 or older and wish to view the optional graphic content: FF net is being a pain about external links, so put in "adult-fanfiction" dot org in either your address bar or Google search. Then just use the search tools there. I think it's member tools, then member directory, find a member, and put in my pen name "pengooin". You'll see my profile and click "stories written". Let me know if you're having issues finding it.**

* * *

><p>When Friday rolled around, Sora and his friends went to Kairi's house after school to help prepare for the party. It was 5:30, and having set up long ago they sat in a circle on her living room floor. Selphie had been enthusiastically telling them the story of how she got to make out with Setzer during seven minutes in heaven at Kairi's last bash. The others tuned her out long ago, having heard the tale millions of times before.<p>

As Sora brought out the last of the snacks, he wondered if Riku would show up. Aerith's talk still confused him, but he at least owed the guy an apology after trying to murder him. Everyone thought of Sora as the sweetest person at Destiny High and he would never hurt a fly. But, no one was able to make him so mad before. Riku had an incredible talent for ruffling feathers in more ways than Sora was willing to admit.

Kairi wrapped her arms around his shoulders, "You nervous?"

He half-smiled, "Nah, I'm okay."

"Good," she kissed his cheek. "Don't worry so much Sora."

Kairi was the only one Sora told about the storm. Like his mother, she had an incredible sense of intuition. He half-wondered if they were having secret SA (Sora Anonymous) meetings behind his back to pick apart the details of his life. Despite being his ex girlfriend, she easily accepted the possibility that Sora was in love with a guy. She was even happy for him. But like Aerith, she wanted Sora to figure out his feelings on his own.

She skipped over to Selphie and whispered something in her ear, to which the brunette grinned sinfully.

Maybe Sephie was in on those SA meetings, too.

* * *

><p>Roxas and Sora both shifted uncomfortably for the first hour of the party as they waited for the inevitable. Ironically, they stayed together and made small talk while sitting through a couple games of hide and kiss. It was really quite remarkable how easily Sora got along with Roxas. They could sit in a comfortable silence and still feel like brothers. It was hard to speak anyway, with the music booming nearby.<p>

"Kairi was tagged for the first game," Sora shouted over the discord. "I wonder who kissed her."

"I heard Hayner got to her first," Roxas added lazily.

"Oh," Sora was about to go on when a freshman tripped and spilt their drink on Roxas.

"Shit, I'll be back Sora," Roxas shot a glare at the kid before making his way to the kitchen.

Roxas was glad for choosing a dark shirt that night as he rubbed at the spill with a damp cloth. He sighed. Parties were so not his thing, but his friends and Axel had encouraged him to go. He started to regret his decision when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his chest.

"Miss me?"

He couldn't help the spreading warmth that enveloped his chest when he turned around to see Axel beaming down at him.

Roxas tried to scowl, but it ended up looking more like a pout, "You're late."

Axel backed him into a counter and leaned in until their breath melded. He smirked, "punish me."

"Uhh," Roxas blushed and squeezed out from between Axel and the countertop.

"No, that's okay."

Axel chuckled and tried not to envision how many things he could make Roxas do on the countertop. Despite the stains, Roxas was looking pretty delicious in that tight-fitting shirt and skinny jeans.

He decided holding hands would have to do for now.

"You want a drink?"

Roxas nodded against his better judgment, "Sure."

* * *

><p>When Roxas didn't come back from the kitchen, Sora assumed that Axel had arrived. He frowned and looked down at his feet anxiously. If Axel had arrived, that probably meant that Riku would be hanging around somewhere too. His resolve to apologize wavered as his stomach knotted up.<p>

An older blonde man approached him and licked his lips greedily as he looked at Sora.

"Can I get you a drink?" Sora looked up briefly and recognized this man as the college guy who showed up once in a while to Kairi's parties. He was bad news. Lux- something? Sora couldn't really remember. He erred on the side of caution,

"No thanks."

The man looked disgruntled at his rejection, but gave up and walked away. Sora could see Riku's uneasy glance in his peripheral. He felt a hollow pang in his chest in seeing him. _That's an embarrassing way to get noticed._

Selphie turned off the music and stood up on a chair for the third time that evening,

"It's time for our final game of hide and kiss! Gather round everyone!" Selphie's yelling rang shrill in his eardrums and he no longer cared to listen. He got up and was about to leave the room when she barked an order his way,

"It's Sora's turn to hide! I hope you're ready for a challenge because he's our very best hider! First one to find him wins and has to kiss him!"

Sora felt all his dignity fly away to some foreign galaxy as the color drained from his face. This was the first time he'd ever been called to play in one of Selphie's silly games. Before, she'd always let him sit out.

"But, Selphie please—"

"Everyone turn around!" She grinned from ear to ear in a way that chilled Sora to the bone. "You have five minutes Sora!"

"Selphie!"

"Go!"

Sora's mind raced. He was going to have to find a place where no one would ever find him, which wouldn't be too hard considering he knew Kairi's home inside out. When the party was over, it would be safe to come out.

_I know the perfect place._

* * *

><p>Roxas and Axel were getting tipsy by the time Selphie announced the game. Roxas squirmed in Axel's arms feverishly as Axel trailed kisses up the younger boy's jawbone. His head swam, his face was hot, and part of him practically screamed to be touched.<p>

Axel grinned and got up from the couch they'd been sitting on.

"C'mon, I have an idea," he grabbed Roxas by the hand and led them outside while the rest of crowd searched for Sora.

"This had better not involve anything illegal," Roxas mumbled. He was still frustrated with the interruption and cursed himself for getting so worked up over a few kisses.

Axel looked at the pool then back at Roxas with the grin of an impish child, "We're swimming."

Roxas grimaced at the prospect of using someone else's pool, "I dunno. It's probably not the best idea Axel."

"Aw Roxy, live a little!" Axel scooped him up in his arms and strolled over to the pool's ledge.

Roxas squirmed violently and yelled, "Not funny! Let me go!"

"As you wish… darling," Axel winked

"No no no! Hey!"

and dropped him into the pool.

Roxas surfaced with his hair matted to his face and coughed up water.

Axel crouched down near the edge and laughed, "Made you wet."

His laughing was cut short when Roxas leaped up out of the water and yanked Axel down with him. Both boys emerged laughing and splashed each other playfully. Roxas tackled Axel and they wrestled under the water.

When the roughhousing was over, a beat of silence passed in which they searched each other's eyes. This was the first time Roxas saw Axel's hair wet and since his hair was flat, his eyes and the markings under them seemed brighter. The light refracted off the water and glowed in blue waves on Axel's face.

Axel was enamored with the way Roxas' hair dripped from the ends, drawing his attention to the shirt clinging to his chest. Whenever Axel was around him, he didn't think of anyone else. He put a hand on either side of Roxas' face and brushed his thumbs over his blushed cheeks.

Axel's eyes swept over him once more and the words fell out like running water,

"I love you."

He felt Roxas cheeks warm under his thumbs, and Roxas reached up for a kiss. Axel leaned down to meet him and slid his tongue in as Roxas wrapped his arms around Axel's neck. Axel squeezed Roxas' hips when he bit at his lips playfully. Roxas then tugged at Axel's tank top, who pulled it off and tossed it. It landed with a heavy _slap _on the water.

**This is the part where Axel makes Roxas a man.**

**DO NOT do this unless you are 18 or older and wish to view the optional graphic content: FF net is being a pain about external links, so put in "adult-fanfiction" dot org in either your address bar or Google search. Then, just use the search tools there. I think it's member tools, then member directory, find a member, and put in my pen name "pengooin". ****You'll see my profile and click "stories written". ****Let me know if you're having issues finding it. **

It took a good five minutes for them to find the strength to pull up Roxas' pants and find Axel's shirt. Roxas laced their fingers as they sat up and dangled their legs in the pool. He leaned on Axel's shoulder and smiled softly.

"I love you too," he said in a muted whisper.

Kairi and Selphie turned to face each other at the patio door and started laughing.

"Dude!"

"I know!"

"Gross!"

"I knooow!"

Kairi wrinkled her nose, "Well, I'm not going swimming for a while."

* * *

><p>Sora carefully pulled the ladder up and shut the attic hatch behind him. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath from pulling up the heavy ladder.<p>

"That mofo weighed a ton!" Sora gasped.

He tiptoed to the darkest corner of the room and climbed into one of the packing boxes. It was the most elaborate hiding spot he could think of for the moment, but he wondered if he would be able to make it out as easily as he got in.

The rest of the party grew restless downstairs. After about thirty minutes, most of them gave up looking for Sora altogether.

The only ones left looking were genuinely worried Sora was now a missing person. Selphie considered putting his face on a milk carton at this point.

"Wow Kai, you weren't kidding when you said he was good at this. You sure he'll be okay?"

Kairi nudged her friend and pointed to the stairs. Riku was on his way up. Selphie followed her gaze and clapped her hands together. Her eyes widened as she grinned,

"Are you _sure _you're not one of those creepy fortune tellers?"

Kairi gave her a smug nod. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, grinning,

"Tell all your troubles to Miss Cleo!"

The girls high-fived and giggled.

* * *

><p>Riku didn't really know why he was searching for Sora. He thought it could be because he knew Sora had the troublesome habit of throwing himself from cliffs.<p>

He didn't much care either way really, but there was nothing to do downstairs. He knew all the girls there, and they were incurably boring; and Axel was presumably busy with Roxas.

Riku winced thoughtfully as he crept from room to room. His friend was quite obviously wrapped up in something more serious than the usual fling. The way Axel looked at Roxas was almost admirable, and so cheesy it made Riku sick to watch. The relationship itself didn't bother Riku so much as the sudden loss of his friend did. There was no one to compete with for dates, and it wasn't fun without competition. Now that Axel wasn't into it, Riku just didn't care to date casually anymore. It had absolutely nothing to do with Sora.

Not a thing.

After carefully combing the few rooms that couples hadn't occupied, Riku considered giving up and going back downstairs when he heard a soft _tap_ above him. He looked up, baffled when he didn't find the source of the noise right away.

But, there was a faint outline of a little door in the ceiling. Riku looked around for something to stand on.

_tap. tap. tap._

This time the noise was unmistakably in the ceiling. He removed a vase from a small decorative stand and pulled the stand to the middle of the floor. Being careful in the distribution of his weight, Riku stood on the stand and pulled at the edges of the door until it came loose and fell open. As the stand started to crackle and wobble beneath him, he jumped up to catch the opening and pulled himself up.

Sora had grown bored and looked around the junky mess for something to keep him busy. He eventually stumbled upon Kairi's box of old toys and pulled out a paddle ball.

At first, Sora waved his arm and the ball bounced off the paddle to hit him in the face. But, after a few more tries, Sora adapted to the timing and rhythm. He had counted 32 hits when he heard the hatch open at the other end of the room. _Kairi? _Sora assumed his friend had come to rescue him, but just to be safe he dove back into his box.

_That was way too much trouble. _Riku exhaled slowly and looked around.

The space was larger than expected of an attic, but compared to the bedrooms it was tiny. Dust coated the sheet wood that made up the floor, and small slivers of moonlight leaked in through the only window at the far end of the room. The rest of the room was cloaked in shadow and silhouettes of packing boxes littered the floor. Overall, Riku thought it was a lonely room. At the same time there was something nostalgic about it.

He wandered between the boxes and made his way to the window. Sora peered over the edge of his box at him. _Riku? What's he doing up here? _

As Riku looked out the window, Sora noticed something very different about his countenance that he hadn't before. He seemed gentle, even kind.

Riku stood there for what seemed like a long time, leaving Sora free to examine him. He casted a tall shadow and his aquamarine eyes squinted thoughtfully through the window, as if he were searching the sky for some kind of divine answer. He was well built and though Sora noticed this before, it accosted him with startling clarity now.

He was in awe of how cool Riku looked. Sora in contrast, was messy, clumsy, and obnoxious; the complete opposite of the zen being standing in front of him. He was torn between staying hidden and revealing himself. Neither sounded very appealing to Sora, but a slight shifting of his hand made the decision for him.

Riku turned, "Who's there?"

Sora's head appeared over the top of the box.

"Sora," Riku approached the box and looked down at him expectantly.

"…Guilty," Sora sulked.

An awkward silence followed and then Sora crawled out of his box. He looked down at his feet.

Riku broke the silence, "We should probably talk…"

Sora nodded slowly and they sat down on the dusty floor in a patch of moonlight.

"Riku, I'm really sorry about before. I didn't mean to attack you like that, I just—"

"It's my fault," Riku sighed, then continued,

"I've been acting like an ass. I would have done the same if I were you."

Sora shifted uncomfortably. He couldn't look Riku in the eyes, but he felt them boring into him as he stared at the floor.

"Look, I don't care if you hate me and all, but you could've just told me or something."

Riku blinked, "Who ever said I hated you?"

"I thought that's why you were picking on me," Sora shrugged.

"Sora, I wasn't picking on you because I hated you. I did it because," Riku trailed off.

Sora looked up cautiously.

"You never came back to the island," Riku finished.

"What?"

Maybe it was the light playing tricks on him, but Sora could swear he saw the slightest bit of color rise in Riku's cheeks.

"Do you remember that promise we made?"

Sora mouthed a silent 'Oh'.

He went on, "You just stopped showing up out of the blue, so I guess I was still angry about it." Riku's eyes narrowed, "we promised to stick together."

Sora's cheeks warmed. _I can't tell him the real reason why I stopped going to the island. I can't tell him that it hurt to see him. _

"Yeah sorry, school and stuff started getting in the way and all…" Sora scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. _What a lame excuse._

Riku frowned and crossed his arms. Despite the years of division, Sora's smile was still cute and contagious. He couldn't hold up his frown for very long.

"So we're okay then?"

"Yeah, I guess…"

Riku nodded, "Good. Now about that kiss…"

"W-what kiss?" Sora stammered and struggled to compose himself.

Riku had to keep himself from laughing at his reaction, "You don't remember the rules of the game? I found you first, didn't I?"

Sora opened and closed his mouth, but no words came out.

"It's just a game Sora."

Sora got nervous as Riku scooted closer, "Well yeah, but I really don't think that's a good idea, and no one's gonna know whether or not we do it."

He felt Riku's hands touch his face and lost his words again. Riku shrugged, "It's no big deal, and we've done it before. I don't mind."

Riku's lips were soft and cool to the touch, and Sora was reminded of the soft underside of his pillow at home. Their lips slid together as if they were matching puzzle pieces. Sora couldn't constrain his muffled squeak when Riku's mouth opened slightly.

He felt Riku's hair flutter over his face and he closed his eyes. It was nothing like Kairi's kisses. This time, Sora felt like he was drifting away with the passing clouds in the moonlight; but it ended much sooner than he would have liked.

"See? That wasn't too bad," Riku masked his own shock and smiled.

He stood up and made his way to the hatch. Sora helped him lower the ladder and they went back to the party without another word.

* * *

><p><strong>Well I was going to get Sora all drunk and jealous after that, but I no longer see it meshing well. All aboard for the fluff train!<strong>

**Next Time: Sora admits to having ****_some _****feelings. Whether they will be regarding food or something else? Who knows.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Title: Seeking Promise**

**Rating: M**

**Pairings: Riku/Sora, Roxas/Axel, brief Sora/Kairi **

**Disclaimer: I could say Kingdom Hearts would be nothing without me, but I would be lying… (I don't own KH or profit from such sweet ventures of the mind).**

**Author's notes: I got scared away for a little while. One of my numbers went down and I thought 'Oh noes, what'd I do wrong?' But, after getting two job call-backs and a couple responses here and there I picked myself up. Besides, it's not a numbers game. It's all about having fun playing my OTP, and I enjoy the responses I do get. Thank you! Also, I owe a big thanks to SoraAndRiku4Ever. I really like one of her fanfics, and plan to read more in the future. It was after reading hers that I decided, 'what the hell, maybe I can make some magic of my own'. Again, there are lots of great writers here and I feel very blessed to read their work. I'm a terrible procrastinator, but I will try and return the favor for my readers when I can. **

**If you are new to "Seeking Promise" or don't remember the song lyrics I used in previous chapters, I have put the song title and the artist of the lyrics I pulled in the author's notes of those chapters. The lyrics aren't there anymore, but feel free to YouTube to your lil heart's content. I do not claim to own/profit from the songs. Title trademark does not belong to me either.**

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_It's just a game Sora."_

_Riku smirked and ran his cool hands over Sora's hips. Sora flinched and looked away, blushing._

_"__Am I cold?" Sora nodded and his gaze followed Riku's hands as they enveloped his body, giving him chills all over._

_Riku's face contorted in a strange way, then Sora felt a sharp pain in his chest._

_"__Watch where you're going, loser."_

_He blinked, "W-What?"_

_"__Get up!" _

_Sora shook his head, but Riku's face was blurring._

_"__Riku?"_

_"__Sora, wake up!"_

Sora sat up and collided with something hard,

"Ow! Sora!"

Aerith and Sora rubbed their foreheads simultaneously, smarting from the collision. Sora winced.

"Mom! What are you doing in here?"

Sora clutched at the covers defensively. He glanced down to make sure his nether regions were covered. That was when he realized he felt damp all over. The sheets squelched slightly beneath him and he was drenched in his own sweat.

"You didn't get up for school, so I was worried," Aerith sighed and pretended not to see the angst-drenched body of her son.

"What?" Sora picked up his clock and shrieked at the time.

Aerith smiled softly, "I'll be downstairs when you're ready, and you might want to clean up first." She smirked as she closed the door behind her.

At first, Sora assumed she referred to how sweaty he'd been. But, as he peeled back the covers he saw the hot, sticky mess he'd made in his boxers while he was sleeping.

Sora blushed furiously and groaned, "That did not just happen…"

Writing the incident off to a lack of activity, Sora cleaned up and got ready for school.

* * *

><p>The entirety of the day proved to be far too awkward for Roxas to handle. Although Friday night had been a blurry haze to Roxas, he did remember having sex with Axel and he remembered telling him he loved him.<p>

So for the rest of the weekend and when they got back to school, neither even dared to mention what happened between them. Axel waited for Roxas to bring it up first, and Roxas had no wishes to face it just yet.

Roxas buried his head in his arms and mulled over the party for the millionth time that day.

_Why in the world did I give over to a fling like that? He doesn't really love me and I don't really love him. He just wants in my pants, and I don't know much about Axel at all._

The details brought a new flush to his cheeks. He wanted to do it again, and soon. And he wouldn't dare admit that wanting to anyone. He had no idea a fling could make him feel anxious, flustered, angry, and sad all at the same time. Roxas always assumed it was an 'in-and-out' sort of thing with no emotions whatsoever.

But, emotions were filling him up until he was ready to burst. Honestly, he had all the respect in the world now for sluts across the globe that did it every day.

Sex changed everything.

"So how did your little kiss go with Hayner?" Selphie leaned over the table and stared hard at Kairi, who shrunk away embarrassed.

The exchange shook Roxas from his thoughts and he listened quietly.

"Uhm, well…" Kairi blushed feverishly. She tried to hide her coy smile and forked around her plate after some runaway peas.

Selphie pounded on the table like a child and Tidus had to stop her from flipping the table again.

"DETAILS!"

Sora smiled and rubbed Kairi's shoulder knowingly, "I'm happy for you."

Kairi smiled back, "Thank you."

"OOOhhh, you just GOTTA TELL ME!" Selphie roared.

Still hidden in his arm-cave, Roxas mumbled a complaint against the noise.

Kairi put a finger to her lips, winking. "I'll tell you later Selph."

Finally appeased, Selphie's eyes glimmered happily. She turned her attention to the two morose boys of the table.

"And just what is wrong with you two? You both got some action at Kai's party. Not only that, but with the hottest bad-boys in the whole damn school!" she scoffed.

_How did she even know about that? _Roxas peered out of his nest and glared at her.

Sora nearly sucked his entire juice box through its straw and started coughing, "What are you talking about?"

"Riku followed you up to the attic, and Roxas went out to the pool with Axel and—"

"Selphie!" Roxas rose indignantly. He glanced over at Sora, who seemed to be drowning in self-pity.

"What?" she raised an eyebrow, unperturbed. "Everyone knows. It's obvious you're both in—"

"Shut up!" Roxas roared. "It's none of your damn business how we feel, you know nothing about it!"

Selphie rose slowly and angrily wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve. She shot Roxas a glare that could curdle milk. Then, she turned on her heel and left.

Roxas slid back down in his seat, defeated.

"You really shouldn't have said that," Tidus stared after her and frowned.

"She wouldn't stop," Roxas mumbled, but regret flooded in to join his angsty cesspool of emotions.

Tidus added, "You have no idea what she's going through, man."

The choice of wording spiked the table's curiosity. Even Kairi was a little confused. After all, Selphie was the bubbliest person they knew, and it was hard to upset her.

But apparently, Roxas had done a splendid job of doing just that.

* * *

><p>"I love him," Axel murmured.<p>

Riku stopped chewing his meatloaf long enough to listen.

"I know he looks like a kid, and he's a boy, but I love him."

The school meatloaf was incredibly chewy. Riku finally gulped it down in a heavy swallow.

"Okaay," he shrugged.

Axel looked at him with desperation. It wasn't the kind of emotion he was used to seeing in Axel and it was almost scary how different things were around him now.

Riku shuddered. Love was not an ideal he was much in favor of. He couldn't see himself swooning over anyone the way Axel was.

"Take some antacids Axe, it'll pass," he snorted and went back to eating.

Axel however, was not about to back out of the conversation, "Rik, I'm serious. I can't stop thinking about the kid."

"Then talk to him, I dunno." Riku clenched his fists. The whole thing was getting annoying as hell and it made him think and his head hurt and he just wanted to go home and sleep.

"I can't man. We did stuff at that party and I don't know if he wants to talk about it," Axel sighed.

"Then don't." Riku's head pulsed in his eardrums.

"But—"

"Would you _stop _talking about Roxas? Jesus Axe, you sound like a fuckin girl. Wanna talk? Go talk. Don't want to? Fine. But you can start by making a goddammed decision!" Riku almost yelled. He held a shaking hand to his head and got up to leave.

"Riku, you okay? You don't look so good. Hey!" Axel tried to get his attention, but Riku ignored him and left the room.

_"__Riku… Riku Riku.." _

"Agh," Riku sat against the wall holding his head. He had migraines fairly often, but this one pulsed through his whole body with ferocity unprecedented. He waited for it to pass before standing up and heading to class early.

* * *

><p>The rest of the week droned on at a sluggish pace. Even after Roxas apologized, Selphie remained silent and seemed to be distressed over something. Kairi tried fruitlessly to get her to open up and cheer up, but she remained dismal. Tidus wasn't his usual self anymore either.<p>

Roxas could still be seen holding hands and walking with Axel in the halls, but there was a new gulf between them, and Sora…

Well, Sora kept having wet dreams and casting glances at Riku's table. But, Riku never so much as noticed Sora since the party.

He almost wished they could go back to disliking each other just so he could get Riku's attention again.

Of course, he knew what all this meant and despised his descent back into unrequited love. One little kiss, and years worth of suppressing his feelings resurfaced with a vengeance.

With Tidus all wrapped up in whatever it was that was stressing him out and Kairi dating Hayner, Sora had no one to hang out with after school and was left with too much time to think.

He could have easily invited someone like Wakka over, but Sora wanted to keep all his bones in tact over the upcoming weekend. He swallowed hard. Pretending to be a friend again would probably take all of the strength he had, but at the moment it sounded a lot better than nothing.

"Riku?"

Riku felt someone grab his arm from behind, stopping him at the fountain in the courtyard. He looked back and saw Sora looking up at him,

"Hm?"

"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to hang out?" The brunette smiled hopefully.

"You, want to hang out?" Riku rolled the words back over, the idea seeming strange to him.

"Well, yeah. My other friends are all busy with stuff and I thought since we were cool and all…" Sora trailed off.

Riku looked up at the sky in thought. This was probably the worst idea he'd ever heard with their track record, but—

"What the hell, let's go."

* * *

><p>Aerith welcomed Riku back to the house with open arms and offered to make them 'grilled cheesus' as she called it. He could faintly remember her making them regularly when they were children and it seemed like an odd choice, but his stomach accepted it gratefully. Turns out, Aerith made a mean grilled cheese.<p>

He took his plate to the sink and thanked her for the meal, to which she winked, and quite creepily, he remarked. Older women hitting on him was a strange regularity for Riku, but when Aerith did it, it looked more like an endearing (though creepy) joke of hers.

Sora led him upstairs to his room, which remarkably hadn't changed much. He still had the same model airplanes dangling from the ceiling they built together, and some of the same posters lined the walls.

"You ever think of redecorating?"

Sora rummaged through his mess of a closet and emerged with a long box.

"Huh? No, not really." He grinned, "Wanna go camping?"

"Uhh," Riku opened the box and looked inside. It was the same little tent they used to put up in the middle of Sora's floor. There were images from the movie _The Lion King _painted all over the outside.

He smiled despite himself, "Sure."

"Yes!" Sora pumped his fist in the air and scrambled to clear a space on the floor while Riku pulled out all of the pieces. The framework was made of plastic, and there were nylon, stretchy cords in the tubes to keep them from getting separated. All they literally had to do was connect the pieces and pull the plastic cover over the completed frame.

Unfortunately, Sora couldn't grasp this simple concept and Riku watched from the bed as Sora tangled himself into a prison of connected tubes. Sora smiled sheepishly up at Riku, who rolled his eyes and pulled them away easily.

"Let me do this," Riku sighed and had the frame together within a few minutes. They pulled the cover over the frame together and Sora wasted no time in disappearing behind the front flap.

"Ta-da!" he leaned out the Velcro window and gave Riku a little push.

Riku chuckled, "Are you sure you're in high school now?"

"Hmph, well I see Riku has lost his sense of fun," Sora teased.

"Have I now?" Riku stepped around the corner and reached under the tent. He pulled Sora down by his foot and heard a dull thud on the other side.

"Hey!"

After a long silence, Riku peered in through the entrance flap. At first it looked empty, but Sora tackled him from a corner near the flap, "Got you!"

Sora pinned him down to the floor of the tent and Riku just looked up at him, "Really?"

Sora was easily tossed aside and Riku started to tickle him.

"Ri-Riku! Haha, stop! Stop, that- hehe! That tickles!" Blood rushed into Sora's face as he struggled restlessly.

Riku couldn't help but laugh as he drummed his fingers over the smaller boy. It was the strangest and most childish thing he'd ever done in his high school career, but it was certainly more fun than pretending to watch a sappy chick flick with a girl.

But as Sora gasped and giggled uncontrollably, it stopped being fun and before realizing it, he'd pinned Sora's arms above his head with a dull thud.

"Riku?" Sora had stopped laughing, but his chest continued to heave up and down.

Riku's eyes widened and he let him go.

"Ah, sorry," he smiled, but Sora tilted his head in that infuriatingly cute way. He looked confused, and a little sad.

"It's okay,"

"After all, it's just a game," Sora grimaced.

The color drained from Riku's face,

"What?"

"That's what you said right?" Sora continued,

"When you..kissed me?"

"Yeah, I guess…" A growing tension quickly replaced the playful atmosphere and it was stifling.

The way Sora looked at him then scared him. Suddenly, he had no idea what to do and his chest felt tight. After just reprimanding Axel for doing it, he was letting himself feel the same way. And he hated himself for it.

"I kinda liked it," Sora admitted.

Riku started to touch him, but drew back.

"I can't do this."

Sora's face was enough to make Riku want to jump from the highest cliff.

"But, we can still be friends right?" Sora choked back tears.

"Sorry," Riku murmured and disappeared from the tent.

* * *

><p><strong>You hate me, right? Lol, I hate me for this too. Um, happy Valentine's Day? Lolz, here's some chewy meatloaf…<strong>

**Ever watch the anime ****_Gravitation?_**** Hiro really reminds me of Axel. He can be so tough and fun, but so very sweet.**

**Next Time: Selphie's secret is revealed. Riku's headaches get worse.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Title: Seeking Promise**

**Rating: M**

**Pairings: Riku/Sora, Roxas/Axel, brief Sora/Kairi **

**Disclaimer: Owning Kingdom Hearts would be a lovely Valentine's Day present. But like my bouquet of flowers, it would probably just sit there and I wouldn't know what to do with it. Eventually, it would die. That's why I leave KH in the very capable hands of Square Enix.**

**Author's notes: Thank you for the reviews kitty, Ern Estine 13624, and smurfette6. I also want to thank each and every one of you still reading. Thanks also ameranthus13; I love our chats. Perhaps we should build a Goofy shrine and worship him in the hopes that KH3 will come out this year. I mean, since he ****_is_**** Jesus and all…**

**I'm so sorry everyone, I hate making anyone cry. So, I will try and redeem myself and save Christ- I mean- Valentine's Day with this chapter. **

* * *

><p>The crushing waves lapped incessantly at Riku's brain. It was getting harder to breathe, and the colors of the sun sinking behind the horizon blurred together in an ugly puke-colored paste. His feet kept moving, but he could no longer see where he was going and after a few short steps he didn't feel his feet at all.<p>

All he could hear was someone's voice in the distance calling his name. Whoever it was, they sounded sad and he wondered if they were crying. He decided it didn't really matter to him anymore. Everything was all wrong. From the moment Sora stopped coming out to see him, he gave up on love and feelings in general. He didn't want to want Sora anymore.

But, it was growing readily apparent his body just wasn't willing to listen.

For years after the fact, he came out to the island everyday hoping to see his friend again. He wrote messages on the cave walls, he skipped rocks, and he climbed the taller trees and picked paopu fruits from their thick branches. After some time, he finally accepted that Sora was never coming back and stopped going to the island. He stopped wishing to be approached in school and he thought he'd stopped caring.

He didn't want to let Sora in anymore, but he couldn't stop the memories from pouring in all at once, and he couldn't stop the pain from eating him alive.

Truthfully, he was no better than Axel. He wanted to follow Sora around like a sad old dog or a lingering fart. It was disgusting to him how easily he could be suckered into the whole relationship thing. He lied to Sora to protect them from this, because he thought that what they had might be tarnished by romance, and that the other kids in school might try and hurt Sora because they were both boys. Nothing felt worse than hurting Sora, especially now that Riku was the one doing it.

But wouldn't it be worse had he gotten into the relationship and had it not work out with Sora?

And there was also that small sliver of hope that it would, and he cursed himself for having it.

A dream weaved its way through the throbbing pain, and it was a nice dream. Someone was holding his hand and squeezing it. These hands felt warm and small and soft. A pair of lips touched his head and the waves of pain ebbed away, replaced with a warmth and bright light.

Four circles of light glared down at him and he winced. It was coming from the ceiling, but he never remembered going indoors, and he certainly didn't remember seeing this ceiling before. In fact, he couldn't remember anything after leaving Sora's house.

Sora…

He sighed and then heard a mechanical whirr nearby. The sounds and the lights were far too vivid to be a dream. Riku blinked and looked around. He was in a hospital room.

"Hi," the hands squeezed again and he looked over at their owner. He had to be dreaming now.

"Sora?" his mouth felt dry and his voice cracked.

Sora nodded, "You fell outside my house, so mom and I brought you here."

Well, now at least the hospital part made sense. He tried to piece it together in his mind, but the pain echoed back, threatening to worsen if he tried to think too much.

He decided to let Sora do the talking for him.

"You were asleep for a long time, so your parents left to let you rest."

Riku grimaced. His parents never gave two shits about him, and he was sure what Sora really meant was they paid the bill and left him alone.

"What happened?" he managed and sat up a little.

"Well the doctor said you weren't sleeping or eating much, and you were very stressed, so you passed out."

_Sounds about right, _he nodded.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay Riku." Sora momentarily let his face fall, but immediately replaced it with that fake ass smile. It tore Riku up to watch.

"Visiting hours are almost over, so I guess I'll see you—"

"Wait," Riku grabbed his hand just as Sora was letting go. Sora was already standing and looked back at him. He tilted his head.

_Good God, why are you so damn cute?_

"Could you stay a little longer?"

Sora looked down at him, then back at the door,

"But Riku, I'll get in trouble. They won't let me.."

Riku sighed. His brain didn't have the energy to testify against it anymore.

"Turn off the lights. If they come in, I'll cover for you."

He looked confused, but Sora nodded slowly and did as he was told. He re-approached the bed cautiously and sat down beside him. The streetlights and the light of the moon in the window were far more comforting than the harsh hospital lights. His headache eased further and Riku reclined in the bed.

Sora rested his head at the edge of the bed, near Riku's leg. He brushed his hand through Sora's hair absentmindedly and the brunette closed his eyes. He stared out the window for a while and thought maybe Sora'd fallen asleep by the time he spoke up,

"It's all my fault, isn't it? You collapsed because of me… didn't you?" Sora murmured.

Riku shook his head. Whatever Sora was thinking was probably the complete opposite of how he actually felt. When Sora finally looked up at him, Riku brushed the tears from his face and smiled. Even when he was crying, Sora was incurably adorable. He knitted his eyebrows together and pouted up at Riku.

Riku pulled Sora into bed to lie beside him. He hugged Sora close to his chest and clamped his eyes shut. Sora felt the throb of Riku's heart in his ear. He clung to Riku like he might disappear.

"I'm sorry," Riku hushed into his ear. He stroked Sora's hair.

Maybe it was the meds, or the dark dreamlike atmosphere, or the smallness of the room in comparison to the vast universe, but everything else melted away and left Sora staring up at Riku in the dark.

Riku still half-wondered if he were dreaming. There were many things he could've said to explain why he left when he did, or why he was giving mixed signals now with Sora in his hospital bed, but any words that came to mind slipped away as soon as they came. In any case, Sora didn't seem to mind, as he broke into a half-smile and continued to stare up at him.

Riku hovered over Sora and placed a hand on either side of his head in the pillow. Sora's blue eyes gleamed even in the dark.

Sensing his unease, Sora reached out and touched his face, "It'll be okay, I promise."

Riku leaned down and kissed Sora gently. Sora's lips were soft and warm and sweet. He craned his neck while Riku cupped his cheek with one hand.

It was a very gentle kiss. Neither of them used tongue or bit at the other. The only sounds were the crinkling of the hard sheets and the soft clicking of lips latching together. Riku broke away for a moment and looked down at him with half-lidded eyes. He was tired and they panted a little, but he leaned down again and caught Sora's breath in another lengthy kiss.

When it was over, he pulled the covers over them with a last heavy crinkle and wrapped his arms around Sora's waist. He nuzzled his head in the crook of Sora's neck, who softly hummed a sleepy approval.

_"__I just know that's what people do when they love each other."_

_ "Love?"_

_"Yeah, when two people care a lot about each other. That's called love."_

Sora smiled in his sleep.

* * *

><p>Morning broke in a hazy glimmer that reflected warmly on the soft white of the hospital room.<p>

Sora was the first to wake, and slowly wiggled out of Riku's grasp so as not to wake him. He stretched wide and yawned quietly. He looked behind him and admired Riku's sleeping face. He was expressionless but his eyes fluttered slightly behind his eyelids. Probably dreaming, Sora figured.

He kissed Riku's head and squeezed his hand before leaving the room. Trying not to get caught, Sora peered around corners and hummed the _Mission Impossible_ theme under his breath as he crept through the hallways.

When he saw Tidus exit one of the rooms, he was more than a little surprised. Now being pretty far from Riku's room, he resumed his normal posture and approached Tidus.

"Sup, Tidus?"

The blonde jumped at first, then smiled half-heartedly.

"Oh hey Sora, what are you doing here?"

He debated telling Tidus the truth and decided it was best to be upfront with his friend. Tidus was his favorite guy pal after all,

"Well," Sora scratched his head and smiled. "I saw Riku collapse so I brought him here. He's okay now."

Tidus' eyes widened ever so slightly, "Really? What happened? I'm glad he's okay man."

"Yeah…yeah. He was all stressed out and stuff so I guess he just got overloaded and passed out," Sora shrugged.

"So what are you doing in here?" he changed the subject.

Tidus looked down at his feet for a long while. Sora tilted his head curiously.

"I'm here for Selphie's first ultrasound."

Sora raised an eyebrow, still completely oblivious, "Why? What's wrong with her?"

"She's pregnant Sora."

Sora grinned, "No way!"

"Congratulations bro!" He patted Tidus on the back.

Tidus rolled his eyes and smiled. Despite the gravity of the situation, at least Sora was willing to support them regardless. He was glad Sora was the first to know.

"Thanks," Tidus said tentatively, then added, "I'm glad you and Riku worked things out."

Unsure of what to say, Sora only nodded slowly and vowed himself to get a ticket to one of those SA meetings. His friends all seemed to know things about him before he knew them himself.

"Hey Sor, I know it's exciting and all but can you keep the pregnancy thing between us for a while? Selphie would kill me and she's still weighing out her options right now. "

Sora pretended to zip up his lips and nodded, "What kind of options?"

Tidus sighed, "Well, she plans on keeping it at this point but she still needs to think about school and whatnot…" He trailed off.

"Well, I dunno much about babies, but if you need to talk I'll always be here for ya."

Sora gave him a short hug and Tidus pushed him off playfully,

"Gross man, save that shit for your boyfriend." He stuck out his tongue.

Sora put his hands on his hips, "I can do what I want, _dad!"_

They laughed and Tidus waved him off, "Alright, get outta here before the mother of my demon spawn catches you being all gay for me. I might catch the AIDs."

Sora walked towards the elevator and called without looking back, "Whatever, you know you liked it."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry this was so short. I'm having trouble coming up with ideas and that means the ending is almost upon us. Kinda sad I know, but I had a pretty good experience for my first fanfic. The next chapter or two will probably wrap it up. I make no promises though.<strong>

**So this has little to nothing to do with Sora/Riku, but if I could put a song to their sex (or to anyone's sex really), it would be Martina Sorbara's "Bonnie & Clyde II". The lyrics don't have much to do with their relationship I guess, but it's a great song that goes with a beautiful scene in the movie ****_All I Want _****(also called ****_Try Seventeen_****). It's the best song ever for fluff sex in my opinion, just in case you were interested (and you weren't), lol. The title trademark doesn't belong to me and I don't own the song. Just a friendly recommendation; you can take it or leave it.**

**Next Time: Sora (finally) makes good on his promise.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Title: Seeking Promise**

**Rating: M**

**Pairings: Riku/Sora, Roxas/Axel, brief Sora/Kairi **

**Disclaimer: As consumers, most of us wish and hope there will be a Kingdom Hearts anime someday. While there's a slight possibility it will one day exist, there will be no blatant homoerotic scenes and for that, I am sad (I don't own Kingdom Hearts).**

** Author's notes: I apologize for the delay, but I'm back! I decided to make this the final chapter, so enjoy the finale! Thirteen *nudge nudge, wink wink* is my lucky stopping point. However, since I didn't get to fit in a Sora/Riku lemon, I might write one in an epilogue in the future. I am lovingly calling it a sexilogue. Feel free to leave reviews for or against it. It'd be like Xion (14)! The chapter that does and doesn't exist. It would go up on the adult site, but you would see a chapter update here referring you there if/when it happens.**

**Thanks Rainy Daysee for pointing out an oversight in my last chapter. I've since tried to fix it so let me know if I made it any better. I made Sora look worse than I thought I did; he's not stupid, just a little dense at times. I do realize there are many reasons for ultrasounds; pregnancy just happens to be the most obvious one. I also changed an age issue in an earlier chapter. For Riku to still be in school, Sora would have to be 16 or 17.**

**I regrettably have missed thanking a few people who favorited/followed Seeking Promise. Since then, I changed my e-mail so now I get notified whenever anything happens so I can keep track of it better in the future. I will now list all of my responders as a thank you. Please let me know if I missed you or if you would like to be added/removed: sullykaystar, ameranthus13, AiMila, Ern Estine 13624**, **YouJustWatch, smurfette6, SoraAndRiku4Ever, Luna, MissAudacious13, kitty, Rainy Daysee, CloudStrife1028, DaphneMezereum, Darknight Silver, Ellie Kohler, Eternal Darkness 96, ForsakenAngel88, KePyon, Lvlss, Neyl, Nish4life, RamecupMiso, , ginnylovesharry5, hotkittengirl, jessiej1987, mystic luna mage, starhunter9147, tonigreetan19, Asder7887, Grace of the Feathered Pen, SilverWingDragon151, yoyito, Yuki Mirai, Zedly, ZeroUtautai, mutgarcia, ninja-master-of-the-moon, twilighttimefan, Cassernzero, My-Beautiful-World, AsakaNarumi6, TardisGrl, petrichoral, Favorator.**

**Told you I was a stalker.**

**Thanks also to the readers not listed! **

* * *

><p>"Eat up bucko," Axel handed Roxas a sea salt ice cream and they sat down together at one of the booths in the ice cream parlor.<p>

It was Sunday, and for the first time in over a week Axel invited Roxas on a date outside of school. Remembering they both liked the same ice cream, he called Roxas in the hopes of bribing him with it. With some prodding, the blonde reluctantly agreed.

Roxas fidgeted in his seat for a while before Axel spoke again,

"Got an itch you can't scratch?" he winked.

Roxas glared, "What's this really about, anyway?"

"Well," Axel nibbled at his popsicle. Roxas' eyes narrowed.

"I was just wondering where my boyfriend went. Haven't seen him lately."

Roxas blushed. The term 'boyfriend' was terribly clichéd. He wondered when his life turned into one of those angsty teenage soap operas. Perhaps tomorrow he'd find himself pregnant with a baby that didn't even belong to Axel.

He shook the thought from his mind with a blink, "Boyfriend?"

Axel shrugged, "If you want to label it that way. You don't seem the type to jump into bed with just anyone."

_'Bed' being a subjective term. It was a pool, technically._

"And you are?"

Roxas' ice cream started to melt and dribble down his fingers. Axel resisted the urge to lick them clean while Roxas craned down and turned his popsicle sideways to bite off the leaking bottom.

Axel shook his head and tried to process the question,

"I guess…"

He immediately regretted his response, seeing the disappointment in Roxas' face. He could feel Roxas slipping through his fingers like sand. He wanted to say something to make up for it, but the words just weren't coming. Instead, they finished eating in silence.

"Then I'll save you the trouble," Roxas stood up.

Axel looked up at him. He felt stricken and his stomach twisted into an ugly knot.

_No…_

"Huh?"

"We're done, Axel."

Axel stood up now too,

"Hey, no need to get all dramatic there, Roxas. Let's talk about this—"

" No, Axel!" He slapped Axel's hand away.

Luckily, they were the only ones left in the shop that evening and Cloud was in the back room. Even if they weren't alone, Roxas couldn't help making himself a spectacle now.

"You're rude, you're messy, you're a player…"

"Aw, stop. You're embarrassing me," Axel grinned.

He continued, "and I'll be damned if I let you make me look like an idiot."

Axel gripped him by the shoulders and pushed Roxas into the wall. He roughly kissed him and when he broke away, Roxas slapped him in the face.

"You love me," Axel murmured.

He was answered with a tense silence. Roxas continued to glare up at him.

"You said that you loved me, right?"

Roxas scoffed, "I was drunk."

"Not that drunk. And I asked if you'd regret it."

Roxas tried to squirm out of his grasp, but Axel kept a firm grip.

"Why won't you let me in?"

Roxas looked like he was about to cry. He pushed Axel hard in the chest to put some distance between them,

"Because you don't love me!"

Axel crossed his arms and knitted his brow, "What?"

"How can you love someone when you're fooling around with other people? And you just met me! You know absolutely _nothing_ about me! You can't just play with a person's feelings like that! That's not love, it's a joke!" His voice cracked. Roxas gritted his teeth to keep the tears from falling.

Axel's resentment shattered into a million pieces. He threw his arms around Roxas, who yelled and thrashed trying to free himself.

Granted, Axel could understand how he got that idea about him and if it were anyone else, he would let them walk away and hate him forever. In fact, he would encourage the people he dated to hate him, so they wouldn't hope for feelings he didn't share. But, this was something he never felt before and he didn't know what to do. All he could think to do was literally hold on to Roxas to make it last.

"I've never told anyone this before, but I love you."

The boy in his arms fell limp and listened.

"I don't want to be with anyone else, and I don't admit to _knowing _anything about you, Roxas. I just feel different with you and I don't know why, but you're stuck with me until you either die or murder me."

"Don't think I won't," he grumbled into Axel's shirt.

Axel chuckled and ruffled his hair. A hesitant Cloud re-appeared and pretended to clean the countertop behind them, peering up every so often to make sure he wasn't being a witness to domestic abuse in his shop.

"Well then, my little convict, would you grant me my dying wish by joining me on the water tower? It's almost sunset," Axel backed off, but left an arm draped around Roxas' shoulder.

Roxas couldn't help cracking a little smile, "As long as you stop being an ass."

"Well, I guess I'm just out of luck then," the bell above the door tinkled as Axel guided them out of the shop.

* * *

><p>Images of cowboys and Indians flashed over Kairi's television screen in her living room. She ignored them in hopes that the unending boredom would go away. It didn't. The person to her right though, was a different story. Hayner's eyes sparkled and every time a showdown occurred, he bobbed his fists in the air playfully.<p>

"Isn't this great, Kai?"

Kairi sighed and tried to sound as enthused as possible. It was the most difficult task she would ever attempt.

"Yeah, westerns are great."

Hayner turned back to the TV while Kairi gagged quietly. Old western movies were the most boring travesties on the planet and most of the boys around her liked them to some degree. She inwardly thanked Sora for not joining that hype train.

_Someone please save me from another hour of this._

Kairi bit her lip and glanced over at Hayner. She started to wonder if she'd get to kiss him again before they turned 30 when the doorbell rang. Kairi grinned and skipped over to the door. She could hear Hayner groaning and the flicker of the TV turning off as she turned the knob.

She had to crouch down to get a good look at Selphie's face, who'd taken an abnormal interest in her shoes.

"Woah Selph, what's eating you?"

Selphie sniffled a little and Kairi took this as her cue to usher an agitated Hayner out the door. She knew better than to keep other people or fragile objects in the vicinity of a crying Selphie. She'd always been known to throw things and scare the locals.

Kairi took Selphie by the hand and led her up to her bedroom. Selphie curled up on the bed in fetal position and nestled her head into a pillow. It was a sight even Kairi wasn't used to seeing. Normally, Selphie would be ripping her fist through the drywall by now. Although she was glad to keep the sanctity of her home in tact, Kairi was genuinely worried for her friend's sanity. She pulled a chair up to the bed and sat down in front of her.

"Kairi, I don't know what to do…" Selphie called out in a shrill voice from Kairi's pillow.

Kairi smiled softly and took her hand, "You can start by telling me what's wrong?"

There was a long period of silence and Kairi wondered if her friend had suffocated herself in the bed. She shook Selphie's hand a little. Her brunette scoops of hair swayed up and down like a seesaw as she shook her head. Selphie finally turned her face to look at Kairi.

"I'm pregnant."

Kairi gaped, "You're not serious?"

Selphie retreated back into the pillow with a hiccup. Kairi couldn't help but think the last few months had hit her with changes like a freight train. But, in comparison to Selphie, she was glad her only real problem this year had been falling for the obviously gay guy. She realized with dread that Selphie wouldn't joke about something like this.

"You are…"

Selphie's head only nodded slowly. Kairi crawled into bed and drew her sobbing friend into her arms. She stroked Selphie's head and her hair bounced with the movement of her hand; a shadow of the normal, bubbly Selphie she knew well. This Selphie was almost like a stranger.

"How long?"

"A couple months."

"Did you tell him?"

"Yeah."

Kairi reminded herself to kick Tidus' ass later. A cheese grater to the balls might do the job nicely.

She grimaced, a little scared to ask the next question, "Are you going to—"

"Keep it? Yeah," Selphie sighed, then added,

"I should've just been a lesbian. Your boobs smell like fresh fruit, Kai. So much nicer than Tidy's stinky chili breath," she nuzzled Kairi's breasts.

Kairi blushed. _At least the old Selphie's still in there._

"Don't change the subject on me, this is serious Selph. Do you guys have a plan?"

Selphie sat up and smiled a little, "Yeah…Turns out Tidus is pretty good at that part at least. His parents are planning to help."

"That's good," Kairi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Fuck that Kai, we're not ready to be parents," Selphie cradled her head in her hands.

Kairi rubbed her shoulder and shrugged,

"No one ever is. But, I think you'll do great."

Selphie laughed sarcastically, and then smiled. Her smile spoke volumes of her appreciation for Kairi's friendship over the years,

"Thanks, Kai."

* * *

><p>The waves lapped softly at Sora's bare feet on the shore of the island. He sighed and squelched his toes in the wet sand.<p>

It was a beautiful day. The sun was already at its highest point and warmed Sora's face. The breeze slightly ruffled his spikes. It reminded him of the day he tried to confess his feelings to Riku.

Sora closed his eyes and leaned back in the sand. He could see the gleam of sunlight from behind his eyelids. He reached up and touched his fingers to his lips, trying to remember every detail of the kiss. The memories made his lips cool to the touch.

_Like a fall day in the middle of summer. _

The gleam disappeared and Sora imagined the sun hiding behind a cloud. But, then he felt something wispy on his face and he opened his eyes. Riku's hair was dangling over Sora's face.

"You're still as lazy as ever, Sora," for a moment his eyes met Riku's with startling clarity before Riku pulled away.

Sora sat up and rubbed his eyes, "Riku? What are you doing out here?"

Riku sat down next to him and crossed his legs.

"I still come out here sometimes, when the weather's nice."

Sora nodded and stared at the waves in silence. He could sense Riku's steady breathing beside him, and it comforted him. He had to admit, it was a nice place to relax and think. But, he got butterflies thinking about all the memories the island brought up.

"So are you going to tell me the real reason you stopped coming here?" He felt Riku's eyes on him, but he avoided them entirely.

Sora now remembered how easy it was for Riku to get a read on him when they were friends. He cursed himself for being so careless with his emotions and thought about his response carefully before answering.

"You said you liked someone, so I wanted to give you space," he shrugged.

Riku sighed and stood up, "C'mon, I want to show you something."

Sora scrambled to catch up to Riku's strides. He followed him into the mouth of the cave. This was where they waited for the storms to pass, but he didn't know what to expect. There was nothing else in the cave that he knew of. He blushed at the prospect of getting raped or molested by Riku in a cave.

_I should just run away…. Damn you and your attraction to sexiness. Sexy rapists are just as dangerous as regular rapists._

Sora continued debating the categories of rapists until Riku pointed to the wall in a small corner of the cave.

"Look."

Sora crouched down and squinted at the dark wall of rock. There were etchings there that were different from the childish doodles that they drew everywhere else. Sora's jaw dropped when he realized what it was.

The designated area was covered in writing. Squeezed between several quotes from love songs were other words painfully scratched into the wall including: _R+S, Come home Sora, I miss you, I'm sorry._ Some of them had worn down over time and were barely legible. A few of them looked like they could have been carved out just yesterday.

One stood out among the others. Sora touched the wall and felt tears creeping down his cheeks. It was deeper, and looked to be traced over many times.

_I love you._

He stared at it for a long time, reading the quotes and trying to piece it all together. Sora didn't even realize he was now on his knees.

"I did like someone, but I wasn't completely honest with you," Riku said from behind him.

Sora stood up again and turned slowly. Riku jammed his hands in his pockets and looked at him with a pained expression he'd never seen before. It was a mixture of fear and anguish. Sora couldn't stand it anymore.

"I love you!" He launched himself at Riku and wrapped his arms tight around his waist, crying.

Riku stumbled back from the impact and blushed. He hugged Sora's head and felt his own eyes starting to well up.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sora looked up at him.

"It would've complicated things," he murmured.

Sora frowned, "Idiot, I was ready. I was going to tell you and you screwed it all up."

Riku played with the spikes in Sora's hair, "I'm sorry…"

Sora leaned up and kissed him, eager to feel his cool skin again. He wanted to replace the fear with his warmth. It tingled and surged through Riku like an electric current. Riku put a hand on his back and brushed his fingers through Sora's hair.

They backed into the wall and slid to the ground. Every time Riku backed away, Sora teased him into another kiss. Riku's head reeled with anticipation. Sora's lips were so soft and warm he could easily have pinned him to a cave wall and had his way with him.

But, just as he was contemplating Sora's innocence, Sora broke it off and touched their noses together. Sora grinned impishly and Riku melted into a soft smile.

Normally, he wouldn't be caught dead being this mushy with anyone. But for Sora, he made an exception.

Sora leaned against his chest and listened to his heartbeat.

"When did you start writing those things?"

"I dunno," Riku shrugged. "A long time ago."

"So, when you were hitting on Kairi…"

"I was jealous," Riku finished the sentence for him.

"I was never attracted to her."

"a-and why were you so mean…to me?" Sora stammered. He blushed deeply and his heart hammered in his chest. Thanks to a little help from Aerith, he felt that he already knew the answers, but that didn't stop him from getting nervous. He was so scared and excited at the same time, that he wasn't even sure he wanted to hear the answers anymore.

He felt the grip on his waist tighten slightly.

"I told you before, I was angry you stopped talking to me. Then, you started dating her without saying anything to me about it…and I didn't want you to…"

Sora huffed, "You could've just talked to me."

"Sora, I'm not the type of person to just tell people this kind of shit. I still don't think this is a good idea," Riku averted his gaze.

Sora pouted, "Don't you want to be with me?"

Riku slid his hand over Sora's cheek, "Of course I do, but—"

"Then nothing else should matter," Sora interrupted, then continued,

"It hurt more being in love with my best friend when I thought he liked someone else. I thought you didn't want me, so I pretended we were never friends. I tried to make it go away by dating Kairi. But, when you started harassing us, I was happy Riku. I was happy because you were giving me attention," Sora winced and tears glistened on his lashes.

"And it didn't matter anymore whether you cared or not. I realized I just wanted to be around you all along. But, it wouldn't be fair to tell me how you felt now and still not do anything about it. We almost died holding it back. We owe it to ourselves to try, right?"

Riku remembered pulling Sora from the ocean, collapsing outside his house, and protecting him from the storms. He always felt like it was his job to protect Sora. That played a large part in pushing him away; but if he ended up in a storm because of Riku in the first place, maybe he was right. It would be easier to take the risk instead of hurting each other indefinitely. The feelings weren't going to go away and he was tired of running from the only person that made him feel that there was something worth protecting.

He kissed Sora's head and hugged him tightly.

"Yeah…Thank you."

Sora raised an eyebrow, "Uhh, thanks for what?"

"Exisiting."

* * *

><p>Selphie stood up on the bench of a picnic table and cleared her throat loudly. As if being summoned, Tidus stood up next to her and wobbled unsteadily. He eyed her baby bump cautiously, which was just starting to bulge and constrict her dresses.<p>

_She should really stop being so reckless, _Tidus thought.

It had been three months since Sora saw them in the hospital, and the rest of the table (which now included Riku, Axel, Hayner, Wakka, and Lulu) eyed them with excitement and anticipation. It was mid-July, and since it was summer, Selphie called the group out for an important meeting at the park.

Riku, Axel, Wakka, and Lulu all graduated in June, while the rest of the group would go on to become seniors in the fall. Wakka was given a full-ride scholarship for his soccer skills and was planning to go to Destiny Isles University; Riku got a job with the local post office, Axel started freelancing as a pyrotechnician while working part-time at Pizza Hut, and Lulu Joined a cult.

Everyone Sora knew acted like he'd been dating Riku forever when they went public, much to his surprise. Riku wrapped his arm loosely around Sora's waist as they sat together. His touch still gave him goosebumps. Even in a plain black vest and jeans, Riku just looked so damn cool.

_And I'm so lucky to have him to myself. _Sora cringed at the thought of all the broken hearted girls they left behind.

"I'm so glad you guys could take time from your 'busy' schedules to come out today," Selphie used air quotes on the word "busy" and looked knowingly at the couples sitting around her. Axel snickered and nudged Roxas, who blushed and scooted closer to Kairi.

"I feel like we're kind of a family now, and as such I have some very important news for all of you…"

Kairi fidgeted and her eyes glistened, "Out with it girlie!"

Selphie bit her lip and her eyes wrinkled at the edges as she smiled. After a few moments of suspense, she shouted, "It's a boy!"

Tidus smiled softly and Selphie threw her arms up in the air as her friends cheered.

"He's gonna be a pro at soccer, yeah?" Wakka got up and clapped Tidus on the back.

"Awww, congratulations! I'm so happy for you two!" Kairi grinned and Sora nodded with her in agreement.

Lulu was the only one with indifference, which was not surprising for her. At Wakka's encouragement, she smiled a little, if you could call it that.

Tidus grabbed Selphie's arm to keep her from jumping up and down on the bench. She composed herself and spoke again,

"We've all changed so much…We made a lot of mistakes, and we'll keep making them proudly. At least I will, because I know I'm not alone. I've learned a lot of things; protection not being one of them," she giggled and Tidus rolled his eyes. "But, I'm so happy to have learned them alongside my best friends and I wouldn't trade my junior year for the world."

Sora squeezed Riku's hand over his waist and Riku leaned over to speak into his ear,

"Whatever happens, we stay together."

Sora beamed up at him and nodded, "It's a promise."

* * *

><p><strong>Ta-da! That's a wrap! I guess all I really have left to say is thank you! I wasn't sure I'd finish this, but thanks to your responses, I kept going. I'll be going on hiatus for a while before doing another fanfiction. I'm really not good at sitting down and writing long stories; I'm more of a poet. But, I'll definitely be checking in and reading fanfics, so feel free to send me messages, responses, etc.!<strong>

**This didn't have a place in the chapter (except ****_maybe _****written on the cave walls), but another song I thought was a good match for Riku is called "My Demons" by Starset. Someone made a great AMV for it on YouTube using ****_Sword Art Online_****. I own nothing.**

**Mata ne!**


End file.
